The Unbreakable Vow
by Ash Darklighter
Summary: Strange lights are seen across a deserted country lane. The wizarding world is calling him home.
1. Chapter 1

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration and her imagination – There are no galleons to be made by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. As I haven't yet read DH it is definitely AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Prologue – Present day**

The car trundled along the dark, narrow lane, its headlights picking up the ragged edges of the overgrown grass verges on both sides and the occasional glimpse of some nocturnal creature's round glowing eyes. The driver gave a tired grin and checked the time indicated by the digital display on the dashboard. She'd reached what she considered to be the half-way point of her journey. Another ten minutes and she'd be home. The thought of the tiny house hidden amongst a grove of trees made a warm feeling of contentment sweep through her.

Ahead she could see the red rear lights of another vehicle as it wound itself through the tree lined road. It wasn't strange to be following another car, just unusual. There weren't many houses along this particular highway.

Suddenly, without warning from within the depths of the wood to her right, coloured streams of light began to fly across the road.

A flash of white, then red, blue, a dark purple with apparent menacing intent and finally, ribbons of green. They twisted and writhed together clearly visible in the darkness. Whatever this was, it wasn't natural. It was almost like…_magic._

The warm glowing feeling in her chest vanished to be replaced by the tightening sensation of dread. The car in front swerved, began to weave over the road and, to her horror, finally lost control and slammed into a tree. There was a sickening screech and grinding of crumpling metal followed by the sound of breaking glass.

"_Oh, Merlin!" _she exclaimed in a pained whisper, her right foot automatically going for the brakes until the car shuddered to a sudden haltShe glanced behind her but there was no other traffic to be seen. She sat in her stationary car, the motor still running and began to panic. _"They've found us. They've finally found us. What are we going to do?"_

Unable to think clearly, she made a split second decision and wrenched her strangely unwilling car into reverse. She didn't know who or what was out there causing such dangerous colours to appear and hang in the air. But someone or something was and she knew that she had to get help immediately. Whoever was in the crashed vehicle had to have been badly hurt. If she'd only had herself to think about, she might have got out of the car but she couldn't risk it. Not if _they_ were waiting.

The little car sped back the way it had come, disobeying all the legal limits in her haste to return to the small town she'd left only fifteen minutes previously. If she was lucky she'd get to the police station without any mishaps and get them to call for an ambulance.

Her hands were shaking as she stopped the car in front of the police station and for the first time she turned to stare properly at the sleeping child in the back of the car. "Oh, Jamie," she said, her voice stopping on a sob. At the sound his name the child twitched restlessly but didn't awaken, his dark lashes heavy on his plump rosy cheeks. Her lips moved into a half smile through her tears. He wasn't going to like being woken but she couldn't leave him out here – it just wasn't safe to do so, especially if she'd been followed.

Grabbing her bag, she climbed out of the car and opened the back door. With a deep intake of breath she reached in and began undoing the safety restraints on the car seat. "Ssh!" she soothed gently, as the baby began to protest. "Ssh! Jamie love." Vivid green eyes snapped open into full wakefulness, glared up into his mother's worried face and then screwed up his face and began to scream. She hoped he left it at that. Anything more would be hard to explain.

She took a gulping breath and released him from the child seat, pulling him into her arms. "Jamie," she murmured, "Mummy's got you. Please be a good boy." Slamming the car door shut, she ran into the police station as if all the dementors in Azkaban were after her.

"There was an accident," she babbled in-between the child's loud protestations to the two police constables manning the front desk. "I don't know what happened. Hush, Jamie," she said, still trying to calm her small son. "Coloured lights across the road…"

"Coloured lights?" one of them asked. "What kind of lights?"

She shook her head in frustration. That didn't sound very threatening. How could she explain what it looked like and convince them that she had felt threatened at the same time? She sighed and then a comparison came to her. "It was as if someone was deliberately setting fireworks."

"Fireworks! Somebody was shooting rockets at the cars?" The detached expressions on the two policemen's faces slipped for a moment into ones of horror.

She nodded.

"This is serious. I'll get Sergeant Mackie." One of them headed for a set of double doors through which she glimpsed a long corridor.

The remaining policeman's face was concerned. "I can't believe what I'm hearing – fireworks! You've had a shock. You're not hurt?"

"What?" She lifted dazed brown eyes.

"You're not hurt, are you?" the constable repeated his question.

"Yes…no, I'm fine. The car in front of me went into a tree or something like that. I heard the noise of the impact…Jamie…" she pleaded with the still sobbing baby. "Please hush, darling." She returned her gaze to the constable. "You need to send an ambulance to the junction at Sheilhill. The trees grow very close to the road there and the car went straight into the..." She stopped and took a deep breath, her face almost chalk white, pale freckles standing out against her skin, framed against her dark brown hair. "I didn't stop to help and I should have done."

The policeman could see how frightened she was. She stood shaking in front of him, her arms clamped tightly around her still wailing child, although the ear-splitting screams had dwindled into hiccupping sobs. In his opinion she needed to sit down before she fell down. "You did the right thing by coming here," he assured her firmly.

She watched dully, her arms tightening protectively around the child, as one of them dialed the required number.

"The ambulance is on its way along with a couple of squad cars although I suspect the perpetrators will be long gone by the time they get there."

A kindly looking man in a sergeant's uniform approached her, a concerned expression on his face. "I'm Sergeant Mackie, Mrs…" He assessed her age and thought again. She looked to be about sixteen. "Miss…"

"I wanted to stop and help but I thought there might be people in the woods and I have the baby with me. I was just visiting a friend." She began to cry in earnest, pressing Jamie to her. "My husband will be so worried – we should have been home over an hour ago."

So she was married. You could never be sure these days but she still looked very young. He caught sight of a set of impressive looking rings on her wedding finger. "Mrs…" he tried again to interrupt the nervous stream of words.

"We should have been home by now. The crash was so loud. Hush, Jamie," she murmured as the baby began to try to wriggle from her grasp.

The sergeant beckoned the constable over. "We'll be in the lounge," he murmured quietly. "Could you get the young lady a cup of tea and perhaps something for the wee one?" He ushered her to a room which contained a couple of tables and some comfortable looking chairs. She placed the still squawking and wriggling Jamie on the floor where he immediately stopped girning and beamed up at his mother and the sergeant.

"Oh, Jamie," she said helplessly, confused by the abrupt change from woe to happiness. He was too like his father at times.

"You've had a bit of a scare," the sergeant observed. "But he looks to be fine, don't you, lad? You just wanted to move around a bit." Jamie chuckled, his tears forgotten and began to crawl about the floor. "Tell us your name, lass, and we'll contact your husband for you."

"Jenny," she said quietly. "Jenny Peters."

"And your husband?"

She took a deep breath, trying to slow down her rapidly beating heart. "His name's Gary." It still felt strange saying it, even after all this time. "But it would be better if I spoke to him myself. He worries about us."

The sergeant's face cleared and he smiled as he placed the name and attached it to a face. "Gary Peters, from the bank? You're Gary's wife?"

"Yes, my husband works at the bank." The town was small enough for him to know that much and he'd eventually work out that she was a part time teaching assistant at the local primary school. Hiding in plain sight her husband had called it.

"I know him," the policeman said thoughtfully, staring down at the baby. He could see the man in his mind's eye - a quiet, thin young man with a permanently worried expression on his face. His son was the spitting image of him apart from the eyes. He'd worked there for…must be a couple of years now. He hadn't known that he was married. The lad kept himself to himself.

Jenny continued to babble nervously. "We live in one of the cottages off the Shielhill road. I was visiting a friend and took Jamie with me. Normally I would have my mobile phone but it needed recharging and I left it at home. It was careless of me. We lost track of the time."

The other policeman came in with a large mug of tea and what appeared to be a bottle of milk for Jamie. The baby stopped his investigating and sat up, his pudgy fingers closing around the bottle. "Ta."

"He's a polite wee lad," he said.

"When he wants to be," she said dryly. "When he doesn't…" She sank into a chair and reached down with one hand and stroked the baby's head. "He's like any other one year old with a temper to match."

"Here," the sergeant handed her the mug of tea and with a grateful nod of thanks, she took a sip of the hot liquid, sighing as the warmth gradually spread its way through her chilled body. "Would it be possible for me to contact my husband now? I know he'll be so worried. Please."

"Of course." He handed her the phone and smiled. "I'll just leave you for a minute or two and see how things are coming along."

She waited until the door swung closed behind him and then with shaking fingers dialed the number. "H…Harry?" she whispered into the receiver, her eyes fixed on the small figure of her son.

"Ginny?"

"Yes," she breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice.

"Where are you? Are you okay – is Jamie?" the voice on the other end sounded almost frantic. "You should have been home an hour ago."

"I'm fine." Her voice shook. "Really, I'm fine."

"You don't sound it," Harry said quietly.

"No, I'm fine…honestly."

"What happened, Ginny-love?" he asked gently. "Where are you? You're not still at Helen's?"

"No, I left Helen's less than an hour ago. I witnessed an accident on the way home and I'm at the police station." Her voice trembled. "And to tell the truth, I'm not sure if it was an accident."

There was a pause. "Not an accident?" he said carefully. "What do you mean that 'it wasn't an accident?'"

"There were lights," she almost whispered. "Like…" she hesitated. "Like spells."

She waited for the human explosion on the other end of the telephone and it wasn't long in coming. "What! I'm on my way."

There was no point in telling him not to come. He never changed – action first and think afterwards. She suspected that he never would change and she loved him because of it. Harry James Potter was the least selfish man she had ever met.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	2. Chapter 2

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 2**

"Where are my wife and son?" a dark-haired young man demanded loudly as he raced into the police station a mere twenty minutes later.

"They're here and they're fine, Gary." Sergeant Mackie was waiting for him at the front desk. "She got a bit of a fright but that's all."

"Bob?" The young man stopped and looked around for his wife. "Where is she?"

"This way, they're in here and they're fine." He pointed to an open door at the end of the passage.

"You're sure that she's fine?" Gary asked, his thin face pale.

"Yes. She just got a bit of a shock," the sergeant said soothingly, ushering the young man forwards.

"And Jamie. What about Jamie?" He turned to face the sergeant.

"Didn't like being woken up," a shaky voice behind him said dryly. "And let us know all about it."

"J…Jenny!" Gary Peters went to his wife and embraced her, his arms winding around her slender body with a sort of desperation to his actions. They clung to one another for a moment before pulling apart. Gary glanced down at the petite brunette by his side. "No, our son doesn't like to be wakened abruptly - sometimes he's very cross about it."

"He was just upset," she reassured him, her eyes holding his.

"That's all?" Gary enquired, a strange expression on his face that only his wife understood.

"That's all," she said quietly.

"That can be enough." His father said ruefully, looking oddly relieved. "He can be very loud for such a small person."

"Da," said Jamie and held out his little arms, green eyes shining with mischief. "Da…Da…Da."

Gary bent down and picked him up. "Hey there, Trouble."

The child beamed at his father. "Da."

"What happened?" Gary asked his wife, who shook her head and burrowed into his side.

Sergeant Mackie answered for her, his kindly face creasing into a frown. "We suspect that some of the local disaffected youth thought that it might be amusing to shoot fireworks at passing cars. The driver of the car in front of your wife's, had no time to react and lost control of their vehicle, crashing because of it. Mrs. Peters was very lucky. The same thing could have happened to her car." He gazed at Jamie who was cuddled against his father's chest, his thumb in his mouth, his eyes heavy with sleep. "They were both lucky."

"What about the other driver?" Jenny asked apprehensively.

"I won't lie to you; they're in a bad way but should survive. If you hadn't been there and witnessed it, that road is so quiet and dark that it's probable that no one would have found them for hours. Then they might not have been so lucky."

"Can I take my wife and son home, Bob?" asked Gary. "You don't need her for anything else, do you?"

The policeman shook his head. "I have her statement. She's been most helpful, Gary. Thank you."

"I'll pick up her car tomorrow. I don't think she should drive herself right now."

Bob Mackie looked at Jenny's exhausted face. Her details said that she was twenty-two, but at that moment she looked much younger. "I agree. You can go home – the car will be safe enough here. If I need any more information from you I have your home and work details but I doubt that I will."

Jenny nodded and allowed herself to be shepherded from the building. She shivered into her woollen coat as she was led to her husband's car.

"So what do you really think happened?" Gary Peters, also known in the wizarding world as Harry Potter, asked his wife once they were safely en route to their home.

"I'm not sure," Ginny admitted. "Do we still have the pensieve at home that Sirius left you?"

"Yes, somewhere." He knew that she was delaying the inevitable. "I think you tidied it into one of the kitchen cupboards."

She looked surprised. "I did? Then there must be more of my mother in me than I thought."

Harry gave her a swift glance before returning his eyes to the road. He wasn't going into comparisons between his wife and her mother at this hour. "Perhaps we could risk using it," he said.

Her eyes flicked to him and away again. "Perhaps we could."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Harry glanced at his wife as he turned into the private lane that led to their house and could see that she'd fallen asleep. In the child seat behind him, Jamie snuffled contentedly in the same state as his mother. He slowed down to avoid the extra-large pothole that he knew was coming up to avoid damaging his suspension, and followed the track for a couple more miles until it widened out into a yard surrounded on three sides by grey stone buildings in various stages of repair. He stopped the car outside the central building, lights shining in the windows in welcome.

"Ginny," he murmured. "We're home."

Her brown eyes opened and even in the dark he could see the love and trust in them. "You're home, love", he said. "You go inside and I'll get 'Trouble'."

She climbed wearily out of the car and made her way inside, folding into the first comfortable chair in the kitchen. Tonight had started out so well with a rare visit to spend time with a friend in town. They hadn't many friends – it was too dangerous. The more people they knew, the greater the chance of running into another witch or wizard. But Ginny had finally struck up a casual friendship with a girl from work who had a child the same age as Jamie. She was sure there were no magic folk in Helen's family; they appeared to be completely muggle.

But then, that was what Harry and Ginny were trying to be or rather, Gary and Jenny, were trying to be, completely muggle. Even Harry's Aunt Petunia, hater of all things magical, wouldn't have suspected that they were a witch and wizard. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley had been hiding from the wizarding world for over five years and it was the first time since they'd left, that their past had caught up with them - if that was indeed what had happened. It could all just be coincidence. _Merlin_, she hoped that's all that it was – coincidence.

"He's completely zonked," Harry murmured, as he entered the kitchen carrying Jamie. "Look!" He held him up. "He's gone all floppy and he didn't even flutter an eyelash when I lifted him from the car seat."

Ginny managed to smile at the sight of her sleeping son in his father's arms. "Just change his nappy and put him straight to bed. He can get his bath tomorrow morning."

"Good idea." He blinked a couple of times as he carried his precious burden out of the kitchen. "I also think that I need to take out these contact lenses. They are really irritating my eyes."

"Your glasses are next to the sink in the bathroom," Ginny called, struggling to her feet and switching on the kettle. Her father would have been really impressed with Ginny's mastery of muggle electricity and her usage of all the latest gadgets. She frowned, she missed her father more than she could say.

It had been bewildering at first living in this strange new non-magical environment. But Harry had helped her adjust. She could probably teach the muggle studies course to Hogwart's students better than Professor Sophronia Sandwick and she'd had muggle relatives. The urge to do things by magical means never left her but the non-magical way would have to do. She and Harry couldn't risk being found. Not yet.

Finding reassurance in doing mundane tasks, Ginny made the tea and delved into the cupboard for the box containing the biscuits she'd made earlier that day. This was their life now, this wonderful commonplace routine, and she loved it. When they were able to use their magic again in complete safety, it would be perfect.

The door opened and Harry wandered in, his eyes now green behind his round, wire-rimmed glasses instead of the muddy brown disguise offered up by the contact lenses. "He never moved," he said with satisfaction as he sat at the long wooden table.

Ginny placed a kiss on his cheek and a mug of tea in front of him. "He's had a busy day," she said seating herself opposite him. "You don't fancy carrying me to bed, too?"

Harry's green eyes twinkled with mischief. "I do, sweetheart, but if I did neither of us would get any sleep."

"Was that an offer?" she asked huskily, her eyes lighting up despite her tiredness.

"Ginny," he said, quietly, reaching across the table and picking up her hand. "I love you but tonight you need to sleep."

She relaxed a little as his hand enfolded hers. "Spoilsport," she murmured, sticking out her tongue.

"I'm sorry," he murmured," his voice deepening.

"I love you, too" she murmured. "Very much."

Harry wrinkled his forehead in concentration and Ginny could see the outline of his famous lightening bolt scar underneath the muggle concealer he'd taken to wearing. It was the best and most reliable disguise he'd found so far, especially for a wizard unable to perform a glamour charm. "So what happened, sweetheart?"

She explained what she had seen, her voice quiet. "I just panicked, turned the car back the way I came and headed straight for the police station. Not that muggle policemen are much help against dark wizards."

"It was the right thing to do."

Ginny looked unhappy as Harry unknowingly echoed what the police had said. "Some Gryffindor I turned out to be," she muttered sullenly.

"You had Jamie in the car with you. You had no choice," he said firmly. "You were protecting him like a mother should. What else could you do?" He thought of his own mother and what she had done for him. Lily Evans would have acted the same way as Ginny – _had_ acted in the same way. He was alive because of the sacrifice his mother had made. His son, Harry hoped, would grow up with both his parents. "We are still members of the house of Godric Gryffindor."

"But we ran – we didn't stay and fight them."

"Back then, we would have lost," Harry stated firmly. "I was not prepared to lose you then or now. I never fought for anything back then, apart from my life and I had to do that frequently. I _needed_ you, Ginny-love. I still do."

Her eyes met his. "We could have done something." Neither of them were talking about the mysterious coloured streams of lights in the woods now.

Harry stared at the contents of his mug, thankful that Ginny had instantly adopted the muggle custom of using teabags when they had left the wizarding world. He didn't fancy seeing his future at the bottom of every mug of tea he drank. "If we hadn't run we'd probably both be dead by now," he said carefully. "Gryffindors are brave not stupid. By surviving anything and everything they throw at us we're giving us time and a chance to even the score. Not today or even tomorrow but one day we will and it's coming soon. I can feel it."

"You can?"

Harry smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant one. It was filled with steely determination and strength of purpose. He would protect what was his. "Yes, I can. We've done the right thing. It's been hard for both of us but especially for you having to leave your family without a word. Ginny, I'll never regret being with you. Not ever. If I didn't have you we wouldn't have Jamie – we're a real family. He's the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to us. I don't plan on history repeating itself. I want to see my son grow up."

"But the contract…"

Harry's voice grew cold. "That contract wasn't worth the parchment it was written on and I'm not even certain that it's legal. Remember that."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 3**

Harry smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant one. It was filled with steely determination and strength of purpose. He would protect what was his. "Yes, I can. We've done the right thing. It's been hard for both of us but especially for you having to leave your family without a word. Ginny, I'll never regret being with you. Not ever. If I didn't have you we wouldn't have Jamie – we're a real family. He's the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to us. I don't plan on history repeating itself. I want to see my son grow up."

"But the contract…"

Harry's voice grew cold. "That contract wasn't worth the parchment it was written on and I'm not even certain that it's legal. Remember that."

Ginny's eyes filled with tears and stretched her hand across the table to grasp her husband's. "I don't regret us either and you're right. I'd be dead and Jamie wouldn't exist. I would do anything for my son and for you."

Harry lifted her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently. "You're a Gryffindor through and through, Mrs. Potter. I'm not sure about me though, as the sorting hat did debate the pros and cons of putting me in Slytherin," he admitted.

"It did?" Ginny's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Slytherin! You're joking."

Harry shook his head. "Nope. I could have been in Slytherin."

"Why have you never told me this before?"

"I'm pretty sure Ron and Hermione knew and Dumbledore certainly knew. There's not much that gets past Dumbledore. You couldn't have been around when I told them. It's not something I wanted to advertise."

"Harry Potter in Slytherin! Merlin's bones! I can just see the headlines in the _Daily Prophet._" Then she cocked her head to one side and stared at him. "I suppose you _could_ have been placed in the house of the serpents. You can be sneaky."

"I do speak the language of snakes," he said referring to his ability to speak parseltongue. "And I _have_ learned to be cunning," he drawled arrogantly. "The sorting hat did say that Slytherin would help me towards greatness but I didn't like the personalities I had already met belonging to that particular house and I still don't. I told the hat that I didn't want to be placed in the house of green and silver." His green eyes hardened, as he thought of some of the former members of Slytherin House in particular. "We're waiting until the time is right and we'll make them pay."

"Yes." Ginny lifted her chin defiantly. "Or we'll make them leave us alone."

Harry's face lost its arrogant expression and smiled ruefully at his wife. "You have a soft heart under all that fire."

"Pot calling cauldron black," she muttered. "I didn't marry you for your ability to defend me. I can protect myself."

"That I know, Ginny-love. I have been on the receiving end of your bat-bogey hex. I hope you married me because you loved me."

Ginny's tired face lit up in a smile so luminous that it took his breath away. "Someone has to undertake such a difficult task. It might as well be me."

Merlin, he loved her but he wasn't about to risk her life any longer. "Ginny…we need to discuss this."

"I know," she answered, the joy seeping from her features.

"Could it have been fireworks?" Harry asked thoughtfully. "It's not that I don't believe you, I just want to rule out any semblance of doubt."

"I've seen enough of Fred and George's most spectacular efforts over the years and no, I don't think it could have been fireworks. It reminded me of watching you and Ron practice for the Defence Association lessons." She gave a huff of frustration. "It was like that time you did slow motion spell casting. It would be better if I could show you." She got to her feet and delved into one of the low level cupboards making a noise of disgust. "I need to clear this out and soon. Are you sure that the pensieve is still in this cupboard?"

"Think so. It's a strange place to put it," Harry muttered. "Even if you were channelling your mother at the time."

"It looks like fancy kitchenware," Ginny said, ignoring his comment about her mother. She missed her mother more than she could say but she knew where her husband was coming from. Molly Weasley in the midst of a cleaning frenzy was a sight to behold. "Only another witch or wizard would know what the stone basin really was. Ah, there it is." She pulled out a red marble basin, the edges etched with runes, and placed it in the centre of the table. "I originally thought that I might put fruit in it."

"Put fruit in it?" Harry echoed in disbelief.

"Yes." His wife grinned. "It would make an adequate fruit bowl but I wasn't sure how the magic would affect the fruit."

"Mmm," he said thoughtfully. "You have a point." Harry got to his feet and began rummaging in one of the dresser drawers. "Are our wands still in here?"

There was a loud silence until Ginny admitted, "…no, I've been carrying mine with me."

Harry stopped and stared at her. "Ginny…"

"I feel safer with it close to me, especially now that we have Jamie," she said, biting her lip nervously. "If I leave the house without you I take my wand. I've never used it. Not since we left but I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to. Tonight I came this close." She held up her hand, her thumb and forefinger an inch from each other. "But I'd do anything to protect Jamie."

"I know." Harry looked down at his hands and then lifted his gaze, staring into her bright brown eyes. "Snap," he muttered.

"What?"

"Me too." He rolled up the sleeve of his jumper and the familiar arm holster came into view, his holly and phoenix feather wand in place.

Her mouth dropped open. He'd also started carrying his wand again – they were so alike. "You haven't used it?" she asked anxiously.

He shook his head. "No. I wasn't even sure that I could without adverse effect to my recovering magical core. But I did notice something unusual yesterday."

Ginny wrinkled her smooth forehead. "What did you notice?"

"I think I briefly turned your hair back to its original colour."

"Using your wand?" she asked. "But you said that you hadn't used…"

Harry pulled the slender piece of polished wood from the holster and laid it on the table. "No, I told you the truth. I haven't used my wand since before Jamie was born."

"Then how?"

"I wished it and it happened," he confessed. "You were sitting in the front room playing with Jamie and the sun was streaming through the window. I just remembered how your hair used to shine in the light and I realized how much I missed my fiery redhead and it just happened."

"You wished it…" her voice tailed off. "You just wished it and it _happened_? Harry does that mean…?"

"Maybe it does." He swallowed. "I think it's the sign I've been waiting for. My magic's recovering ahead of schedule and that I'm stronger than any of them suspected."

"We always knew that you were powerful." Ginny thought of Harry's demonstrations of magic he'd given to the Defence Association while they were both still pupils at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Your patronus in third year…"

Harry shrugged. "Madam Pomphrey said it could be ten years for my magic to return fully, remember?"

"But she said you should have almost no magic for most of that length of time - little better than a squib if Voldemort's spell worked as it should. Was she telling the truth?"

"Yes, as far as she is aware of what normal wizarding reserves should be but then I'm stronger than most people suspect. I'm not even certain if Dumbledore is aware of my true capabilities and I want to keep it that way. So what might count as descending to the level of a squib for some wizards..." he stopped and shrugged. "Hopefully won't affect me so much. Poppy guessed immediately what the curse Voldemort flung at me was and what it did."

"How did she manage that?" Ginny asked curiously.

"I'd given her access to the library at Grimmauld Place and she'd picked out several books on counter-curses. Voldemort started his attacks outside the apothecary's where a sheltering Poppy had gone to stock up on extra ingredients. Luckily she was able to start the healing process almost immediately but it's been a long time coming to fruition. It's been over five years since I've been able to do any accidental magic." Harry looked at the well scrubbed kitchen table. "I'm used to surviving without magic. I did it until I reached eleven and then during every summer at my Aunt and Uncle's in Privet Drive I was forcibly cut off from the world that I loved. You returned to the Burrow, your parents and older brothers did magic around you. You weren't used to living like I was."

"I wouldn't have lasted more than a week without you," Ginny murmured, remembering back to the first few days when she'd escaped the wizarding world.

"You're a pureblood from an old family and lived and breathed magic every day. You needed a place to hide and the muggle world was the best option for both of us. I wasn't going to let you survive alone. You would have been a captive of Malfoy Manor in no time at all."

"Oh, Harry…"

"Besides, you knew that I wanted out of the wizarding world for a while – a break from the pressure of expectation, added to the effects of the curse. I was fed up of everyone wanting a piece of me – both the good and the bad. So I attempted to give myself a bit of space. Perhaps it didn't work out quite the way I planned but we're still alive." He smiled at his wife. "And I'm happier than I ever deserved to be. One day we'll have to go back. Or at least, I will and I suspect that it's going to be soon. The next time I face Voldemort it will be as a fully mature adult wizard with the power to match."

"You're not going anywhere without me," Ginny vowed fervently. "If you go back, Jamie and I go with you."

"I wouldn't want to return alone. I'm stronger with you by my side." Harry was certain that he could see her hair briefly become its natural colour again. They couldn't hide the magic within them indefinitely – it was far too strong and if his predisposition for wandless magic began to rear its head again, he would be found out.

"Let's get this out of the way," she said firmly, retrieving her wand from her handbag. "And I hope that the ministry has forgotten that they might have tagged this wand."

"You keep it in your handbag?" he said incredulously, his eyebrows rising to meet his hairline.

Ginny straightened. "Well, yes. Why shouldn't I?"

"I bought you an arm holster."

Ginny waved her hand dismissively. "That was six years ago."

"I still have mine," he muttered sulkily.

His wife glared at him, sparks in her eyes. "So do I, Harry James Potter but I find it awkward when I have to lift Jamie. You know what he's like with his toys. I hate to think what will happen when our year old, magical son gets hold of one of our wands for the first time. The result will be complete chaos – far worse than any of Fred and George's experiments."

"You have a point there." Harry was justly proud of his son but had already seen what a magical infant could do. He often wondered if his parents had dealt with levitating toys and magical tantrums where things not fixed down could jump off shelves.

Ginny placed her wand to her temple and thin gossamer strands of silver memory fell into the pensieve. "Go ahead, Harry," she said quietly. "I'm sure I'm right."

Harry leant over the basin and found himself in Ginny's memory. He could feel her fear but most important of all, he saw what she had seen. She was right. Someone had been shooting spells across the road. Had they been found or was it purely by chance that his wife was a witch and had recognized the lights for what they were. He sat up, pulled off his glasses, and rubbed a hand wearily over his eyes.

"Well?" Ginny demanded.

"I agree with you." Harry's voice suddenly sounded tired. "Those are spell trails."

"I had hoped that you wouldn't agree."

"So did I," he said soberly, placing his glasses back on his nose. "The thing is, Gin, Voldemort isn't gone for fifteen years this time. The Death Eaters know that there are ways to bring him back."

"There are?"

"Yes, and I would bet my magical core that he's left instructions with the most loyal of his followers. Remember when I asked you about the horcruxes?"

"Oh yes." Ginny sighed heavily. "The horcruxes. We're not much further forward than we were when we left, are we?"

"A bit. I know what I've to find. I'm just not sure of the locations."

"Now talking about your magical core…" she gave Harry a stern look. "I'm glad that Madam Pomphrey knows that we're still alive. She's someone I trust. Have you told her about the return of your magic ahead of schedule? You need to have her examine you again."

Harry shook his head. "I haven't seen Poppy since Jamie was born. She only knows that we left the magical world for our safety. I didn't tell her where we went and she didn't ask. I portkeyed her in and out when Jamie was born. I have a few portkeys left around for real emergencies that the aurors made for me back in my Privet Drive days. It's the only time I risked doing any magic. And I guessed that pre-prepared portkeys wouldn't count."

Because Ginny had gone through Jamie's birth without her mother by her side, Harry had decided that it was worth it to have Poppy Pomphrey with them instead. He knew that she would respect patient confidentiality and also mask the magical signature of the birth. As soon as they'd discovered that Ginny was pregnant they'd known that their baby would be magical. How could he or she not be?

A child from the Potter-Weasley line had great potential. That child could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. So Harry had asked Poppy to mask the magic of the child's birth. It was a difficult spell to do but Poppy had agreed. Harry and Ginny did not want the name of Jamie Arthur Potter appearing in the magical registry of births and ultimately in the attendance ledger at Hogwarts – not yet.

"Then Poppy's still the only one in the wizarding world who knows that Jamie exists," Ginny murmured in surprise.

Harry nodded. "It's for the best."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 4**

"Then Poppy's still the only one in the wizarding world who knows that Jamie exists," Ginny murmured in surprise.

Harry nodded. "It's for the best."

"I agree. I wish our family and friends could know about him but it's still too dangerous. One word in the wrong place and…" She shivered. "I miss them so much but you and Jamie come first. I just hope that they understand." Ginny wrapped her hands around her mug of tea.

"So do I, Gin."

"But Harry, your magic…?"

He shrugged. "You know that I can feel it building inside me. It was never completely gone because we got to Poppy so quickly..."

"Dumbledore doesn't know that," Ginny said slowly.

"I told him what Voldemort had shouted as he threw that final curse." Harry's face hardened. "I'm pretty sure that the headmaster may even have heard the incantation. Dumbledore knew that I was cursed, but not that Poppy recognized the spell and immediately sought to undo the damage. He didn't know that she'd been researching dark hexes from the most obscure books in the Black family library. She saved my magical life."

"Then you didn't need to leave the wizarding world," Ginny said quietly.

"I did. I told you at the time that the curse had still drained a large part of my magic and would have continued to do so without complete magical rest. I would not have been allowed to recover in peace. I suspect that Dumbledore would still have kept me in ignorance whilst continuing to try and control and manipulate me. I'm certain he knew at once what I'd been cursed with but didn't really do anything to rectify the situation. I asked him about it and he said it was an obscure hex and he would have to research it."

Ginny frowned. "Then maybe he didn't know about it and by the time he did it was too late."

"Then why didn't he say that at the time. All these lies and half truths didn't help. I just needed him to be open and honest. Actually," Harry murmured, remembering. "He did say something along those lines but I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly. I just remember being so angry at him."

"Why didn't you ask Hermione?"

Harry looked sad. "I don't know. She was also hurt during that battle. Nothing serious but enough to put her into St Mungo's for a couple of days. By then, it was probably too late and our relationship was a little strained. There was no particular reason – it just happened and the time for confidences was lost. The spell's reversal depended on immediate action which luckily Poppy gave me. Even with immediate treatment most of the damage had been done. And the conclusion - no magic until my core recovered. If she hadn't been in the apothecary's…" Harry shook his head.

"Did Poppy tell the headmaster that she'd treated you?"

Harry's mouth flattened into a thin line. "After I told him what I'd been hit with I was about to say that Poppy had seen me but he told me, 'not to talk and save my strength, dear boy,' without looking me in the eye. Not that I could Legilimise him." Harry frowned. "Perhaps, he thought I could." He shook his head. "No matter. He then decided to move me to St Mungo's not realizing that I'd already been treated by Poppy for the most pressing matter. St Mungo's sorted out the minor cuts and bruises I had and sent me home within a couple of hours where I went straight to the hospital wing and swore Poppy to silence before Dumbledore returned. I could have had the same treatment at Hogwarts. Poppy and I discussed my options for the future and they didn't look promising in the magical world unless I had the chance to completely rest. Thanks to Sirius I had a back-up plan but I thought I might not have to use it so soon. Your situation changed everything."

"Sirius wanted the best for you," Ginny observed with a sad smile.

"Yes, me, Harry, and not the 'Boy-Who-Lived'," he said, thumping his hand against his own chest. "The people who supposedly know me best don't trust me. They would prefer me weaker rather than stronger just in case I decide to become Voldemort's successor."

"Which you definitely don't want to be."

"Of course, I don't. I never did want fame and power. I want to live my life in peace with my family and the old man knows this. I love and respect him or I used to before he went too far with his manipulations. He has a lot to answer for – the Dursley's, the lack of a proper 'Defence against the Dark Arts' teacher for most of our school careers, proper training for the task I will still one day have to undertake..." He looked at her. "Need I go on?"

She shook her head noting that the kitchen light was flickering again. They would really have to get a new set of bulbs.

"He continued to encourage me to use my dwindling magical reserves in further training, knowing that the more I used my magic the less powerful I would become. He had plenty of opportunity to tell me what had happened to me and he didn't. He lost my trust, Ginny, and his actions also left me open to attack by any Death Eater who wanted to try and capture the 'Boy-Who-Lived'."

"You couldn't use your magic to defend yourself?"

"In a nutshell, back then, yes. I couldn't. I didn't have enough power and the more I used it…" His shoulders slumped as he ran out of steam.

Ginny frowned, her eyes darkening with anger. "The more you used it, the less it became." Harry only thought of protecting others. Had no one thought of looking after him?

Just over five years ago with the war between the dark and light escalating, Voldemort had attacked the village of Hogsmeade. Harry, with the Order of the Phoenix and the Defence Association had gone to help the beleaguered villagers. It had been pure chance that had Poppy Pomfrey, the Hogwarts' mediwitch, visiting the apothecary in Hogsmeade to procure some extra supplies for healing potions when the Death Eaters had struck.

As usual it had come down to a duel between Harry and Voldemort when they'd both fired curses at almost the same time. Harry knew he couldn't have killed the Dark Lord at that time because he hadn't found all the Horcruxes. Voldemort had split his soul into Horcruxes which meant that until they were all destroyed he couldn't be killed. But Harry had no such safeguards and had thrown the Unforgivable curse as a last resort.

Voldemort had fired hex after hex at Harry until the young man had been pressed against the door to the apothecary's shop. The Dark Lord, his terrible face with the flat, snakelike, slitted nose, red eyes gleaming with evil intent, his long thin fingers wrapped around his wand, had approached closer and closer until he'd stood within striking distance.

"_You must pay for your continual defiance," he'd hissed. "Pay with pain and then you will die." His features tightened. "Crucio!"_

Pain had swept through every part of Harry, his scar burning like never before but he would not give Voldemort the satisfaction of screaming – he could not. He was dying here; he had nothing left to give. But still, he would not cry out.

Voldemort spoke again. "_Magisiphonux…"_

And at exactly the same time, Harry, beleaguered and in pain had finally shouted, "_Avada Kedavra!" _

"Harry! Harry. Are you alright?"

He lifted his gaze from the table. He'd used the killing curse which could have given him a one-way-ticket to Azkaban but he'd had no choice. It was kill or be killed. 'Neither can live while the other survives.' The quote from Trelawney's prophecy continued to haunt him. "I'm sorry, I was just…"

"Thinking back?" his wife asked shrewdly.

"The headmaster saw Voldemort throw that last curse at me. In his defence he wasn't close but… What he didn't see was me cursing the Dark Lord in return and Voldemort vanishing. As far as Dumbledore was concerned, the death eaters had just portkeyed out. The rest of them did. It must have been several weeks before they grasped the fact that he'd probably been removed from his body again and by then I was about to vanish into muggle obscurity."

Ginny's eyes widened. She'd known he'd been under a great deal of stress when they'd gone into hiding. He'd told her that Voldemort had gone but she hadn't really believed it at first. Then her own problems had escalated and she'd focused on leaving the wizarding world. "Ultimately you left to protect me." Her voice rose. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I did do that and would do it again," Harry said carefully. "You were part of the reason why I left but not the total cause. What they were doing to you in the name of light wizardry gave me the final impetus to move. They had no right to ruin your life for the war effort without your consent. You were to be sacrificed and I couldn't allow it to happen." His green eyes darkened with distress as they stared across the table at her. "I might have let everything collapse around me but for you. I would have _died_ but for you."

"Harry…"

"You saved me Ginny. You were always there for me in those final years before we left the magical world and I loved you for it. I still love you and I always will but the love I have for you now is deeper. I couldn't let them sacrifice us both. What they wanted to happen wasn't our destiny. Our future was meant to be together."

"What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"Tomorrow I dig out my father's old invisibility cloak and go to the scene of the accident. It should be safe from any magical interference for a day or two because it will be crawling with Muggle policemen."

"If you're sure that's wise." Ginny pulled open one of the drawers behind her and grabbed a map. "How far are we from the nearest magic settlement?"

"Hogsmeade or Dovetown are within four hours driving distance of here. Of course it would be quicker by broom." He stabbed his finger onto the approximate locations which were not indicated on the Muggle ordinance survey map. "That's not that far and would be easy to apparate to but there's nowhere really close."

"Unless there's a wizard estate in the general vicinity," Ginny said thoughtfully, staring at the map.

"It's possible. I don't know enough about the wizarding communities to know where they all are. I now think we need some outside help."

"Who."

"Poppy, Remus, Tonks, the twins… Any one of those."

"Ron?"

Harry's face hardened at the mention of her brother. "No, not Ron. They're bound to assume that you and I are still alive and he's the one they'll be watching the most closely. He was my best friend, after all. You know he can give things away under pressure. I don't trust him not to crack so, instead, I think we bring in the twins. They're much more useful since no one is likely to be watching them at all, so they're the only ones I really trust these days. They know the value of secrecy and stealth but hide it under laughter and tricks. It's a good smokescreen. Besides, they owe me."

Ginny's expression showed her surprise. "You trust Fred and George more than Ron?"

"Much more than Ron," he affirmed. "The twins were determined that we do something about your plight and wouldn't accept everyone else's 'there is nothing we can do'. He's still far too jealous and resentful where I'm concerned or he was when I left. He will not be happy that we've been in hiding for five years without letting him and the family know where we are. There is no way that he could exist without magic. We have to consider that he'd tell Hermione – she's probably his wife by now and Merlin knows, Ron can't keep a secret. If he told Hermione, she'd probably inform Dumbledore. The Headmaster, last I heard, was trying to get her a job in the Ministry so that she could do some spying for the Order."

"You seem so bitter where Dumbledore is concerned."

"Do you blame me?" Harry asked quietly.

Ginny shook her head. "No."

"He didn't see _me_. He didn't see Harry." He patted his own chest. "I was always the Boy-Who-Lived. The idea that I might want to survive into adulthood and have a normal life appears to have passed him by. I know he thought that what he was doing was in my best interests but at some point that seemed to change."

"I can see where you're going with this," she said slowly. "Employing Quirrell, not telling you about Sirius. He could have got you out of the Triwizard tournament. You weren't of age and yet, he made you compete as bait. He didn't tell you things that you should have been told."

"Exactly," Harry said. "He's admitted to some of these mistakes but it's not enough, not anymore."

"Hermione might surprise us but we cannot take the risk," Ginny said thoughtfully. "She doesn't act on instinct. It all has to be planned out."

"Sometimes planning ahead is better but plans can go wrong and then you have to go with your gut. That's why we three used to be such a good combination. Ron for strategy, Hermione for planning and information, and me for the seat of the pants type of situations."

She'd never considered it before, but Harry was right. They'd all combined so well together. "If you say that we can't tell Hermione and Ron, then we don't."

"We cannot and this is why." Harry pursed his lips, sighed and then said, "I know someone else who has a vested interested in Hermione."

"Whom?"

"Percy," he said grimly. "He still wants to be Minister for Magic one day."

Ginny's eyes narrowed in fury at the mention of the brother who had willingly estranged himself from the family and believed the Ministry's lies about Voldemort's return. However in the eyes of Ginny and Harry, it wasn't the worst thing that he had done. "That bastard," she said venomously. "He _would_ want to utilize the abilities of the brightest witch of the age and she did always get on with him better than the rest of us did. But surely she wouldn't trust him either. She was as upset as we were when he…when he…" She stopped, her heart racing.

"Hermione has a naivety towards authority that always surprised me and always wanted the approval of a parental figure. I never really had one of those. The Dursley's weren't exactly parent material as far as I was concerned. Percy would want to keep tabs on her because she's always been loyal both to me and to Dumbledore. I don't want Percy's loyalty." Harry's lips curled. "I don't trust his loyalty. Percy's blindness could ruin everything. He cannot see that he's wrong. We have so much more at stake now, Gin. We have Jamie and we have each other. I don't want Jamie's life to be a repeat of mine. I don't want him to grow up in the care of others - others that won't want and love him like we do."

"Jamie could have got us into a lot of trouble at the police station," Ginny said, a small smile teasing at her lips.

Harry gave a quiet chuckle. "No accidental magic after waking up?"

"None," she said smugly.

Harry ran a hand through his untidy black hair. "That's a first. I'll never forget the first time he accessed his magic and sent the array of toys flying at me from the crib like a set of rogue bludgers. It would have been difficult to explain and I know you can make most things seem believable but I suspect this would have been beyond even you."

"I don't think I can take him to visit Helen again," Ginny said regretfully. "Our son is definitely not a squib."

"Did you ever think that was likely?" Harry asked.

"No, but according to the 'Magical Infant' books I read, he's accessing his magic very early and that indicates he will be powerful." She made a face at her husband. "It's all your fault."

"Why is it my fault?" Harry couldn't quite understand that one. Yes, the child was undoubtedly the son of his father. You saw that just by looking at him. But 'fault'.

"He's too much like you."

"Why don't I think that's meant to be a compliment?" Harry complained plaintively.

"It wasn't a compliment," she returned. "I can see him getting into the same amount of trouble you did at school."

"It wasn't always _my_ fault," Harry protested. "You're a powerful witch too, Ginny Potter and managed your fair share of pranks. You know the old saying. I didn't actively go looking for trouble. Trouble always found me first."

"Yeah, right." Ginny raised one eyebrow sceptically.

"I didn't exactly remember you fighting me off when we…" Harry flushed and closed his mouth. Ginny's smile curled around his heart.

"When we what?" she asked, her eyes gleaming.

"When he was conceived," Harry finally managed to say, his face red.

Ginny giggled. "It was much more than that," she whispered throatily.

"Jamie didn't access his magic?" Harry said, trying to return to the main topic of conversation and will his face to return to its normal colour.

"He did but only levitated the one toy that he wanted away from little Nathan and luckily Helen was making tea at the time and only heard Nathan's protests. I just couldn't really relax after that. I don't think we can leave him at the school nursery either which means I won't be able to work."

"You don't have to work, Ginny-love but I understand why you want to," Harry said quietly. They had more than enough gold in their Gringotts' vault but his wife was a powerful intelligent witch and he wouldn't stand in the way of her career.

"I think the nursery nurse was giving me suspicious looks the last time I picked him up. He needs other wizarding children to interact with. It's not fair on him to grow up in isolation. Although…"

"No, it isn't fair. I want my son to have the kind of upbringing that you had with a family that loved you." Harry stood up, collected the mugs and placed them in the dishwasher. "I wouldn't wish the Dursleys on any child, including their own. Dudley was what he was because of them." He ushered his wife from the kitchen and switched off the light. "I wonder what they're doing now."

"You do?"

He shrugged, the movement barely visible in the darkness. "Sometimes, but I guess I don't care enough to go and find out. I hope they're well and happy but I don't care if I never see them again."

They were silent as they made their way down the corridor to the master bedroom. Ginny peeped in at Jamie but he was sound asleep. Dropping a kiss on his flushed cheek she joined her husband in getting ready for bed.

Harry sighed, as he plumped his pillow into a more comfortable shape. The more he thought about it, the more inevitable it seemed. Hiding as a Muggle was all very well but there some things that a Muggle just couldn't do. "It appears we have little or no choice in this. We must rejoin the wizarding world without being seen to do so. I have to go back and at least try to make contact with the people I trust."

"And I'm not letting you do that without me."

Harry grinned as he pulled her into his arms. Merlin, he loved this woman.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	5. Chapter 5

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 5**

**5 years previously – The Burrow**

The figure seemed so alone, a brooding stillness enveloping his slim frame. The weight of the wizarding world was on his shoulders and it appeared to observers that the burden was getting heavier.

"Harry?"

Harry Potter glanced up from where he'd been staring into the clear depths of the pond that the Weasley family used for swimming as if it would act like the crystal ball he'd used in divination and give him the answers he was desperately seeking. "Ginny," he said, trying not to show any emotion at the sight of the youngest member of the Weasley family. "I was just coming…"

"What's wrong?" She could see that he was locking up his feelings behind the blank face he'd adopted recently and in many ways this state of affairs wasn't surprising. For someone of barely eighteen years old, Harry had suffered far too much tragedy and ill-usage during his life. It had left its mark both visible and invisible and Ginny wondered if the sunny tempered boy she'd once known would ever return.

They'd dated for a brief period during Harry's sixth year and Ginny's fifth but had reluctantly broken it off. It hadn't been a decision that he'd ever wanted to take but in the aftermath of the deaths of Cedric Diggory and his godfather, Sirius Black, Harry had deliberately pushed everyone away. He couldn't help remembering those he had lost because of who he was and did not want to place Ginny into any more danger than she was currently in. She was far too precious to him. If he lost her, he might as well surrender immediately to the first Death Eater he saw and let him _Avada Kedavra_ him on the spot.

He turned to face the petite redhead and sighed. "I can't keep things from you, can I?"

"No." She folded her arms across her chest

After they had split, the first few months had been understandably awkward but recently, they had begun unconsciously circling one another again in what sharp-eyed bystanders, like Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and Ginny's twin brothers, Fred and George, could sense, was the age-old dance of attraction. Harry and Ginny were drawn to one another no matter how hard they tried to fight their feelings.

"Ginny…"

"No," she said again. "Don't try and wriggle your way out of this. You can keep hiding your problems from everyone else but not from me. I know you too well."

"So do Ron and Hermione," he said, a challenging glint appearing in his dulled green eyes for the first time since she'd approached him.

Ginny gave a disdainful snort. "You've learned how to fool them. You can't do that with me any more." She moved closer and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Tom Riddle harmed me too. I have depths the others will never have."

Harry felt the touch and a shiver of something ran down his spine. "Don't be too sure. War has ways of evening things out. Your family has been hit too many times…" He swallowed, his expression cracking to reveal his anguish. "Your father…"

"My father knew the risks," Ginny said, her voice trembling. "And so do I. You and I both experienced the darkness first hand before the war was ever supposed to have started. The war never ended, did it?"

Harry grabbed his fraying composure and attempted to knit it back together. He wanted to reassure her that everything was alright but he couldn't. In any case, she wouldn't believe him. "No, the war didn't end. As long as Voldemort can cheat death, the fight will never be over."

"And can he?" she asked, wincing at the sound of the dark wizard's name.

"Yes," he said, staring at his feet. He wasn't sure what she would see in his eyes. He couldn't bring back her father for her. He hadn't been able to save any of them. He wasn't even sure that he could save himself.

"You're shutting us out again, Harry. Talk to Ron and Hermione or, if you can't talk to them, what about Remus?"

"I can't," he muttered. "I tried and I couldn't. Remus has enough to worry about with the Ministry of Magic further tightening the restrictions on werewolves."

"Then talk to _me_," she implored. "Please, Harry. You can't keep it all bottled up inside." She noted that he briefly met her eyes properly for the first time, the pain in the clear green depths clear to see. "I want to understand and you need to talk. It's for your own good.

"I suppose that I do need to talk to someone and I have no one else I would rather tell," his gaze skittered away for a second time. "But Ginny, I don't want to burden you with my problems yet again."

She moved closer, her sweet face earnest. "Talk Harry. I'll listen. I want to help even if I can't do anything to ease what you're going through. It's better to tell someone."

"But we should be getting ready for your birthday party." He tried to smile. "I don't want to be selfish."

"You're the least selfish person I know, Harry." Her bright brown eyes shone trustingly up into his. "My birthday is today and the party is tomorrow," she said. "Today is for the people I care about most."

"This is not the kind of gift you should be getting from me," he said, unable to hold out any longer.

"This is the gift that I want. I still have feelings for you," she whispered, her hand lifting to gently caress his cheek.

"You do?" his voice cracked, as the sensations of her gentle touch arrowed down to his heart. "I haven't killed them?"

"I never stopped having feelings." She moved even closer and slid into his arms. "I know why you distanced yourself from me. I didn't agree with you at the time but I respected you for your decision and I know that you were thinking of me when you made it. But I'd rather be in danger with you than safe without you. I need you in my life, Harry."

Almost unwillingly Harry's arms closed around her and it was only then that he felt some ease; gradually his stiff hands relaxed and began to gently caress her slim shoulders. She hadn't said that loved him but she still cared about him. It was more than he hoped for and deserved. "I tried not to think about you," he confessed. "But that was impossible. You're always there. You're my hope and my future, Ginny. You're my goblet of fire."

"Then…" she coaxed softly, her hand still curved around his cheek.

"I still have feelings for you, too." He swallowed. "They never went away but after what I said – what I did, I don't have the right to expect..."

"You do and we will deal with any problems together. I'm not allowing you to push me away this time. I'm not allowing life to separate us. We have to go on living it." She reached up and gently kissed him on the lips as if sealing a vow and it was as if a ripple of glowing gold magic shimmered through the air catching them unaware in its elusive mist. "Being without you isn't making me happy, Harry. To be honest it's not making me any safer either. I'm fighting for you. I'm not going away, nor am I giving up. This time I will win."

"How can I argue with that," he said trying to smile and failing. She still cared and it was far more than he deserved even though he doubted that they should be together. Carefully he tried to step away from her but she just moved with him. He had to be honest with her. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your father, Ginny. He should be here for your seventeenth birthday. I tried to get there in time but the death eaters…they were targeting him." He hesitated and then pressed on. "They targeted him because of me."

Ginny's eyes filled with tears at further mention of her father, killed in a random Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley seven months previously. The whole family missed Arthur Weasley's steadying influence but Ginny had been especially close to her father. "No, Harry, that's not true. We've always been considered blood traitors. We may not have the money but we have reputation. We're still considered to be one of the main pure-blood families on the side of the light. Magic is neither dark nor light - it is the choices we make on how to use it."

Harry nodded. Dumbledore had said something similar to him on more than one occasion.

"It wouldn't matter to them whether you were there or not," Ginny said softly. "My father wouldn't blame you."

"Your mother…" Harry began.

"Is devastated at his loss and has yet to recover fully. Her wounds are still causing her a lot of pain but we must go on with our lives and mum will see that eventually. I know she feels the same about you, Harry. She doesn't blame you for anything and she told me that herself when I visited her earlier on today. She sent you her love, Harry."

Molly Weasley had been with her husband at the time of the attack and had been lucky to escape with her life. However the loss of Arthur had hit her hard and in her depressed state, she had withdrawn from the family and was still receiving treatment in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies. On the positive side, Molly Weasley, unlike Alice and Frank Longbottom, could be cured.

Harry's arm tightened around the slender girl in his embrace. It was still too dangerous for them to be together but this felt so right. "You are the one holding the family together right now Ginny and you shouldn't have to do that."

"I'm seventeen today. That's adulthood in the eyes of wizarding law. Still," she pressed closer to him enjoying the feeling of his arms around her. She'd noticed his attempt to put distance between them. She'd noticed it and dealt with it. This was the only wizard that she'd ever really wanted. It wasn't her fault that he was sometimes slow on the uptake. "There are times when I feel so much older."

"I know what you mean."

"I know you do." She glanced up at him. "So tell me what's worrying you. Something is, Harry. You're brooding more than even you normally do. That's not a good sign."

His teeth gnawed worriedly at his lower lip. "You've studied Occlumency?"

"Of course I have. You made us all do after…after Sirius," Ginny tailed off at the sudden frozen expression on Harry's face. The death of his beloved godfather was still raw after two years.

"You cannot tell anyone this yet," he said, his face white. "Not anyone - especially not Dumbledore or even your family. It's too dangerous. Can you put up some privacy wards?"

"Yes." Ginny slid her wand from the back pocket of her jeans. A couple of swishes and flicks later she was done. What was he worried about that was so important and why hadn't he done his own privacy charms? He had saved her life back in her first year at Hogwarts and because of that she owed him. But she suspected that most of her family owed him as well. "I swear on my magic that I will not tell anyone about this until you give me leave."

Harry took a deep breath. "Voldemort's gone," he said bluntly.

"What!" Ginny gasped, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. "He's gone. But how…where? Surely we'd know that he'd gone."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

She frowned. "The Daily Prophet hasn't said anything. There's been nothing new from the Ministry of Magic apart from their stupid safety guides."

"They denied he'd come back until he was standing right in front of the Minister, remember?" Harry spat bitterly. "They don't really know anything and they're still too busy saving their own skins to worry about the rest of us. Keep in mind that I'm the one most attuned to Lord Voldemort's moods. And believe me, if he was still in my head I'd know about it."

"Your scar?"

"Not a twinge for three weeks," he said. "And don't say that it's too short a time for me to know anything. That's not the case. For the past year, the ache in my scar has been a constant presence in my life. Constant, Ginny," he repeated. "Since the most recent battle in Hogsmeade three weeks ago, I haven't had a single twinge. There's been nothing - nothing at all." He pushed his fringe away from the famous lightening bolt scar. For the past year it had always been red and inflamed. Now, she could hardly see it.

Ginny's eyes narrowed in thought. If Voldemort had truly gone why wasn't Harry happy about this and broadcasting it to the entire wizarding world? She had to ask. "Then why aren't you happy about it?"

Harry took a deep breath, his expression grave. "I'm not happy because unfortunately, Voldemort's demise is not permanent."

"Not permanent? What do you mean it's not permanent?" Ginny's words quickened.

"There are ways that he can come back to life and this time his followers know it. Voldemort will have left instructions on how he can be raised." He walked away and sat down on an old tree stump. "There won't be nearly fifteen years of grace for the wizarding world this time. They won't have time to celebrate and ignore what could be occurring right under their noses." He kicked a loose pebble into the pond, where it landed with a light splash. "Sit down, Ginny. This could take a while."

She walked over, took out her wand again and conjured up a blanket, seating herself down beside him. Harry watched her with a strange look on his face – almost like envy. "Go ahead," she said. "I want to know."

"Do you know what a Horcrux is?"

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	6. Chapter 6

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration and words – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 6**

Ginny sat astounded at what Harry had told her. The night of the last attack on Hogsmeade Voldemort and Harry had thrown curses at one another almost simultaneously. The curse that the Dark Lord had thrown at the Boy-Who-Lived, had begun to drain his magic, possibly permanently and Harry's last ditch effort in turn, had removed Voldemort's spirit once more from his own body. He didn't tell her everything but it was enough to set her mind spinning.

"But because of the Horcruxes he created, he cannot be killed until we find and destroy them all. He's still out there. The magic used is very dark. To create a Horcrux, Ginny, Voldemort had to take a life."

"Does he know that we are aware that he created these…" she shuddered, "…things?"

"I suspect that he must do."

"Oh."

"Ginny, we think that he created seven of them."

"Seven," she moaned. "You're sure?"

"Yes, we're pretty certain of that. However, he may have created seven but I didn't say that seven still existed."

"Some of them have been destroyed?" Ginny's voice held hope.

"Your diary was one of them," he told her gently. "Tom Riddle's diary."

"Tom Riddle's diary was a… It held part his soul!" she exclaimed, aghast at what he had told her. The shame and violation she'd felt all those years ago returned. She'd been eleven, her first year at Hogwarts and having that particular diary in her possession had almost resulted in her death and that of Harry.

"It wasn't your fault." Harry took her hand in his. "Yes, there are other items that we're sure no longer exist. There's a ring Dumbledore destroyed and we think a locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin is another possibility. Although we don't know where it is. The good thing is, Voldemort won't know where the locket is either."

"Slytherin…locket…"Ginny stuttered. "My…Riddles diary?"

Harry nodded. "Voldemort preserved a piece of himself in that diary. That is why he was able to control you."

"You killed that piece of him when you stabbed the basilisk fang through it, didn't you?" Ginny murmured in understanding. Her head lifted, excitement lighting her face. "Harry, if he doesn't have all seven can we kill him? He would be less powerful."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "All the Horcruxes must be destroyed before he can be vanquished for good. I told you that this is magic at its darkest – he has to kill to form a Horcrux."

The eager expression fled and her shoulders slumped. "Do Ron and Hermione know about the Horcruxes?"

"Yes. Dumbledore said that I could tell them and no one else. Never mention that I've told you about this to anyone, including Ron and Hermione. Please, Ginny. It's for your own safety."

"I promise," she said. Ginny suddenly realized how much trust Harry was showing in her. "And that's where you've been since you left school – searching for the Horcruxes?"

"More or less. I did a brief stint in Auror training just to sharpen up my reflexes and hone up on some defensive and offensive spells. Mad-eye Moody is a useful person to know as are Tonks and Kingsley. They taught me a lot, risking their careers and possibly their lives to help me. I'm not the Ministry's favourite person at the moment."

"Because you won't sweeten the potion and tell them what they want to hear. When are you going to tell them about V…Voldemort?"

Harry noted with detached pride that she'd actually said the Dark Lord's name. "I don't know when I'll let them in on the secret. I haven't been too impressed with the way the Ministry has chosen to act. Added to that, something Dumbledore did immediately after the Hogsmeade fight made me keep the news to myself for a bit longer from him. I guess I'm trying to play the old manipulator at his own game."

"Is that wise? Someone will let him know eventually and then he'll know that you didn't tell him." She shivered. "I've never seen Dumbledore angry."

"Ron and Hermione are the most likely informants whether consciously or unconsciously. If the headmaster decides to use Legilimency on them and reads their minds, then they'll tell him things that Dumbledore's smart enough to piece together. Currently, they have no clue about the gradual weakening of my magic," Harry said scornfully. "If I continue to exist in the wizarding world for much longer my magic could eventually drain away completely. Hermione, once she lifts her head out of a book, or focuses less on Ron, will eventually notice that I'm not doing magic and that I'm not suffering any pain from my scar. She'll start asking questions. I know that I'll have to tell them soon."

"What about Snape?" Ginny asked. "He's still spying for the Order. Won't he know about V…Voldemort?"

"He only goes to Death Eater meetings when summoned and I think Voldemort has become suspicious of his activities of late and hasn't called him quite as often. He will be one of the first, I think, to put everything together. I suspect that Snape, along with my mother and the true Marauders, were their generations version of Hermione – one of the brightest wizards of his age. It won't make much difference to me what Snape thinks or does. He still sees my father every time he looks at me and that puts him at a disadvantage. He's still too caught up in the past."

"Snape speaks to the Malfoys," Ginny said with a shudder. "They're very close to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named."

Lucius Malfoy had placed an enchanted diary belonging to one Tom Riddle into Ginny's Cauldron back in her first year at Hogwarts. The malevolent spirit held in the diary had almost destroyed both Ginny and Harry. It had taken her a long time to recover from the ordeal and still suffered from nightmares because of it. Lately, Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco, had taken to watching Ginny very carefully on the rare occasions they had met and there was something disturbing in his pale gaze. She suppressed a shudder. Thankfully, the Malfoy's wouldn't be seen dead anywhere near The Burrow.

"We have to hope that old Lucius is too busy trying to curry favour with the Ministry to wonder why Voldemort hasn't needed his services for three weeks," Harry said quietly. "An Imperious curse for the second time is a hard excuse to pull off." After the first war, many of Voldemort's followers had maintained that they'd been cursed into doing his bidding. "Lucius has more lives than Minerva's animagus form and I wouldn't be surprised if the necromancy texts, Snake-face requires, are hidden in Malfoy Manor. Lucius is no fool and I wouldn't be surprised if he's suspicious."

Ginny clenched her fists. "It's not fair," she burst out. "It's just not fair – it never is for you. Can your magic be saved? You won't be without it forever, will you? You can recover?"

Harry laid one of his hands on hers and squeezed gently. "No, it's not fair and I've already asked myself 'why' hundreds of times but that won't change anything. I can cut right back on spell work and live like a squib would, or, I can go back to the Muggle world and live without magic for a certain number of years. Then, according to Madam Pomfrey, I should recover fully. I was lucky and got treatment immediately after I was cursed. If I hadn't…" he let the words tail off. He knew Ginny would understand what he wasn't saying. "I will forever be indebted to Madam Pomfrey. The second option would be very difficult to maintain."

Ginny Weasley was one of the brightest witches in her year and summed up Harry's situation immediately. "You're going to go away – you have to."

"Eventually." Harry nodded, looking almost calm. "In a couple of months or so, once I sort out my affairs, I will leave the wizarding world. Voldemort is currently without corporeal form and will continue to be so for at least another year or perhaps even longer, if we're fortunate. However I'm not going to be so arrogant as to assume. Sirius and I discussed at length my almost inevitable need for a bolt hole which wasn't Grimmauld Place and made arrangements to buy a property for me without Dumbledore's knowledge. He was dissatisfied with the provision that the headmaster had made for my upbringing at the Dursleys. Petunia and Vernon were the last people my parents wanted me placed with and I was left there for nearly ten years without anyone making the proper checks on my wellbeing."

"Buy…"

Harry shrugged. "Sirius was a wealthy man and I inherited all his assets. Add to that the fortune my parents left me and I would never need to work again, if I so desired."

"I can't see you sitting doing nothing," Ginny said, with a small smile. "You'd be bored and in trouble within a week."

"No, it's not my style. I do still have a Dark Lord to vanquish with or without using my magic. I will use the time for research. Hermione will be proud of me," he muttered cynically. "Make no mistake, Riddle will return and when he does I will be ready for him."

"Can I come with you into exile?" she asked seriously. She was one of the few that knew that former head boy of Hogwarts, Tom Riddle, and Lord Voldemort were one and the same being. She had always believed in Harry.

Harry's face softened. "I would love to have you with me but you're a witch, Ginny. You've no experience of the Muggle world and it won't be the exile for me that it would for you. You need to stay here. Hopefully, it will be safe for you for at least a few more years. Finish your Hogwarts education and think on a career you would really like to do and not because the war has pushed you into it. Work on becoming the most powerful witch that you can so that you will be able to protect yourself and those you love."

She would be safer at The Burrow with her family than living a life hiding in the shadows with him. Ginny Weasley was a pure-blooded witch from the top of her shining red hair to her elegant fingertips. Harry was under no illusions that the magical world would let him go willingly into hiding. An adult Harry Potter with resources and a strong independent will would not suit everyone in the magical world even if he wanted to leave it. They would be concerned with what he was up to, suspecting him of all sorts of nefarious plots against the Ministry. He could even be in danger of some form of imprisonment if they knew of his plans to vanish into Muggle obscurity. He would be in even more danger if they knew that he was powerless. "I expect that the headmaster will turn up tomorrow for your birthday celebrations, Ginevra." He murmured changing the subject.

"Don't call me that."

"It's your name and it's pretty…like you are." He stood up and stepped away from her. "I would love to have you with me but you are safer with your family."

"My family…" Ginny moved closer to Harry again. "My family is breaking apart and there's very little I can do about it. Charlie's back in Romania because dragons are easier to deal with than the death of our father and the way that my mother is right now. Bill has been ordered back out into the field by Gringotts and Fleur has gone with him. He wants to feel normal again and not watched as if he's going to sprout fur at every full moon."

Bill had been attacked by the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, but not badly enough for him to make the change every full moon. It had been an anxious time for the family as they'd watched and waited. But the most that had happened was that the eldest Weasley brother had a greater desire for rare steak at certain times of the month.

"I heard something about Bill and Fleur working for the Order," Harry said quietly. "It wouldn't surprise me if that's the reason they couldn't make it here for your birthday and I know there has been talk of sending Remus back to the werewolves again."

"The twins are too busy creating in their shop and Percy…" She scowled, her lip trembling. "He's still toadying to the Ministry. He's never once admitted to us that he was wrong."

"And he never will. I would go and see the twins, Ginny. I think you can depend on them most of all. Tell them what you are feeling. Ron…"

"Ron is Ron. He's sticking to Hermione like glue and willing to do exactly what Dumbledore wants him to."

"To the extent of reporting on me," Harry agreed tiredly. "And the worst of it is that he won't realize that's what he's doing. But we all do what Dumbledore wants us to do."

"Because he's Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in the world," murmured Ginny.

"Precisely" Harry ran a hand through his hair again. "We need someone to trust when things start to fall apart. We need someone to make everything better again except I'm not sure if he can. I'm not sure if _I_ can." The prophecy echoed in his mind again in Trelawney's strange trance-induced voice.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as him as his equal, but he will have power that the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…"_

Ginny's head drooped. "My family is coming apart in front of me, Harry. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"You won't lose me," he said, standing and pulling her up with him. "You may mislay me for a while but I'll turn up eventually." He tipped her chin up with his finger and stared into her eyes.

"I'll wait for that," she promised, her eyes twinkling into his.

"Come on, birthday girl; let's get back to the house. I'll help you with supper. You are not allowed to make it all by yourself."

Ginny smiled gratefully. "That would be good. Otherwise Hermione will offer to help and I can't cope with her in the kitchen."

"For all her brilliance, homemaking is still an area she lacks expertise in. Her cooking is…" He looked appalled and clapped a hand across his mouth.

Ginny giggled.

"Merlin, don't tell her I said that."

"I wouldn't dare," Ginny said. "Even if it is true. She would either hex me senseless or challenge me to a baking competition. I'm not sure which would be worse."

They skirted around the back of the property and were about to head for the kitchen door when there was several faint pops heralding the arrival of several figures. Harry and Ginny, sadly all too accustomed to less than friendly visitors, ducked behind a large oak tree and waited to see the identity of their callers. Harry pulled out his wand.

"Harry…" Ginny hissed, gesturing to him to put it away. If what he had told her was right, he would drain more of his magic if he used his wand right now.

"I'd rather survive which will give me a chance to eventually recover," he whispered back. He stole a quick glance around the tree trunk and his mouth dropped open with surprise. "Ginny!" he muttered. "Look."

Ginny peered around the tree trunk and gasped, her eyes wide with surprise. "It's Percy," she whispered. "What's he doing here? He's made no contact willingly with the family since he started working for Fudge in my fourth year at Hogwarts."

Harry remembered that episode very well. Percy, along with the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, hadn't believed Harry and Dumbledore when they said that Voldemort had returned. He had even written to Ron on the unsuitability of having Harry Potter as a friend. "It is your seventeenth birthday," offered Harry. "Percy could be willing to put family differences aside. What would be a more suitable occasion than this? You are his only sister and he did always want to look after you."

"By force feeding me Pepper-Up potions?" Ginny shook her head. "There's something wrong about this and I don't trust his appearance here. He's not been near Mum all the time she's been at St Mungo's. I saw him at Dad's funeral in amongst the Ministry representatives but he never came and spoke to the rest of us. He stayed away from the family at a time when we should have been together. Our father died and our mother was terribly injured and he never came to us to give or to receive comfort." Her pretty face hardened. "As far as I'm concerned he's not a Weasley any more."

Harry's eyes narrowed as he recognized the wizards accompanying Percy. "You were right to be suspicious, Gin. He's not alone," he muttered, his hand tightening on his wand. "And I'm not sure that I like his companions. In fact, I'm certain that I don't."


	7. Chapter 7

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 7**

Ginny stifled a gasp and ducked behind the tree clinging onto Harry as if her life depended on it. "What are they doing here?"

"I don't know," Harry muttered grimly.

For apparating into the grounds of The Burrow with Percy Weasley, were Lucius and Draco Malfoy. Percy, the third of the Weasley brothers, had been estranged from his family since the ministry had declared Voldemort's return was a lie created by Harry and Dumbledore to gain power. The Weasley family had believed Harry without question. Percy had not and had resented that his new promotion was an effort by the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge to keep an eye on what Dumbledore was doing through the actions of Arthur Weasley. When it became evident that Voldemort had returned after all, Percy had not apologized to his family and former friends and remained apart.

Lucius Malfoy, pure-blood supremacist, known supporter of the Dark Lord should, in most right-minded witches and wizard's opinion, be in Azkaban prison. His son, Draco, with his pale pointed sneering face and cold grey eyes, was undoubtedly following in his father's footsteps. He'd been an enemy of Harry's since they'd met in their first year. Why would they arrive at the Burrow with Percy? Had Lucius an inkling that the dark lord was again missing his body?

The three unexpected visitors had an intense but hushed conversation just outside the front porch.

"Let me handle this," Percy said irritably. "This is my family and I know how they think."

"Really," Draco was heard to drawl in a bored but superior tone. "That's not what I heard."

"Draco, be nice," Lucius chastised languidly. "After you, Weasley." He smiled, stretching his lips without showing his teeth, and it didn't fill either Harry or Ginny with confidence.

The two young wizards waited until the strange group disappeared into the house. "Let's go in the back door," Ginny muttered. "There's something distinctly…off about this. We're blood traitors as far as the Malfoys are concerned. Dad always disliked Lucius intensely."

"I can't believe that anyone could like Lucius," Harry said darkly.

Why are they here?" Her gaze became panicked. "They wouldn't be here for you…would they? The Ministry have been interested in your whereabouts."

"If it was me they were after there would be others with them. There are too many able wizards in this house. So it's not me. What do they want here?"

"I don't know but Malfoy, he…" She gave a little shiver. "Harry…" Ginny paused. "I may be wrong but…" she hesitated.

Harry turned to face her and grabbed both her hands in his own. "Say it. It doesn't matter how daft you think it is."

"Ever since we got together and broke up again…"

"You know why we did that, Gin. I wish it hadn't happened but…"

"I still think you were wrong but Draco started to watch me then. And he never stopped. It was creepy. It's as if…" she stopped, her expression pained.

Draco was _watching_ Ginny. Harry's mouth dropped open. A terrible thought had suddenly come into his head. No, he had to be wrong. Percy wouldn't do such a thing. Still, the words pounded inside his head. _Blood traitors – blood!_ Ginny Weasley was a pure-blooded witch – a beautiful pure-blooded witch. But she was _his_ witch.

One of Harry's strengths was his ability to think quickly in a crisis or perhaps, it was not to think at all, and he dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small silver knife. Slicing it across his palm he motioned to Ginny to do the same. She didn't know what he was trying to do with this, but held out her hand, palm up and let him make a small cut to match his. "Whatever happens," Harry vowed. "I'll not let you go through this alone. Whatever happens, I'll be with you." Pressing their palms together, they couldn't fail to notice the soft golden shimmer of magic which covered them both.

"Well," Ginny stated in surprise. "Something happened there,"

Harry's brow creased in concern. "Yeah, I'm just not exactly sure what did happen. But it was some form of blood magic. Hermione would know if I wanted to ask her, which I don't. I just acted on instinct and I know enough to gauge that it should give me the right to help you and your family if necessary."

"Help me!"

"I'm relying on you to do the same for me. It works two ways. At some point you have to help me back," Harry said, trying to smile. "Let's go in and see what's happening."

"Wait," Ginny ordered, pointing her wand at the cut on Harry's hand. With a quick incantation, the cut healed to a thin red scar. She then did the same to herself. "No use dripping blood through the kitchen and advertising what we just did," she murmured.

They slipped in through the back door to be met by an anxious Hermione, her eyes wide and filled with tears. "We saw them," Harry murmured.

Ginny pointed to the door and through in the front room, they could hear an angry chorus of raised voices.

"Oh, Ginny…Harry," she said.

"What's happening?" Harry asked, his hand, still throbbing a little from the cut, tightening in Ginny's grasp.

"You'd better go through Ginny. This concerns you." Hermione's face paled further as she spotted Harry and Ginny's joined hands.

"Concerns me?" Ginny echoed. "What concerns me? Tell me."

Hermione's lips trembled and she shook her head.

Harry gave Ginny a supportive nod as she opened the door and stepped through. The scene in the Weasley's living room was one of angry hostility. Fred, George and Ron were all on their feet shouting furiously at Percy. Her estranged brother stood stiffly, his ears red with anger as if he couldn't believe such verbal attacks on a ministry representative. The Malfoys stood, blonde hair gleaming, impeccably groomed, just inside the door as if they couldn't bear to contaminate themselves by entering further into the room, their pale, sneering, pointed faces enjoying the argument.

As Ginny entered the room, Percy switched his attention almost gratefully to his sister. He hadn't seen her for several months and was astonished at how grown-up she seemed. Draco's gaze immediately latched onto the young redheaded witch and a faint triumphant smile crossed his lips. Harry noted, with concern, the barely concealed possessiveness in Draco's eyes directed straight at Ginny. This didn't look good at all.

"You've got no business here," Ron snarled as he turned away, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. There was a horrible silence.

"Happy birthday, Ginny. This is an auspicious moment in your young life – that of young adulthood in the eyes of wizarding law," Percy said pompously. Moving forward he attempted to kiss Ginny on the cheek as a brightly wrapped package appeared in his hand.

Ginny stepped back abruptly and Percy's attempted kiss landed in mid-air. "What are _you_ doing here, Weatherby?"

Percy reddened at the reminder that his first boss at the Ministry failed to remember his name, and placed the gift on the table behind him. "I am here as the senior Weasley family member to wish you a happy birthday."

"You're not the senior Weasley," she said coldly. "You don't deserve to be. Bill is the eldest son, followed by Charlie."

Percy brushed a speck of dust from his immaculate pinstriped robes. "But neither of them are currently in the country which makes me de facto head of the family."

At this statement Fred and George began yelling again. Ginny held up her hand and the brothers quieted. "If you don't want an example of my favourite hex you'll explain exactly why you are here and the meaning of the undesirable guests."

Percy scowled. "You need some guidance in your life, Ginevra Weasley. Instead of hanging around with wizards of dubious temperament and morality – he threw a vicious look at Harry. "We're here to settle your future."

"You have some nerve!" Ginny snapped. "I'll settle my own future."

"In the light of your status as an underage witch lacking proper guidance, the Ministry has decided to accept a petition for your hand in marriage."

"Without consulting me!" Ginny spat, her eyes flashing with loathing. "The Ministry has no business meddling in my life. This is an archaic practice that fell out of favour decades ago. I refuse."

"You cannot refuse," Percy said smugly. "And as for 'out of favour', think again, Ginny. It's becoming rather popular once more."

"I don't care how 'popular' it is. I refuse. Try to make me do it." Ginny exploded forward her hands raised in furious fists.

"No, Gin," Harry said quietly, catching her by the waist and pulling her back. "Don't touch him. It will only make things worse." Hermione moved to her other side in support.

"I don't have to 'try', Ginevra," Percy said, in a supercilious voice. "You'll find that you have no choice but to do it."

"Perhaps I may interrupt," a cold voice drawled. Lucius Malfoy stepped forward and pulled a piece of rolled up parchment from his pocket tied with a green silk ribbon and held it out to Ginny. "My petition for the hand of Ginevra Molly Weasley for my son, Draco Lucius Salazar Malfoy, was accepted…"

"I didn't accept it," Ginny cried. "I won't accept it." She surged forward again only to be held back by both Harry and Hermione this time.

"Don't touch the parchment," Harry whispered in her ear, unheard by everyone apart from Ginny as he caught one of her flailing fists. "It's a magical contract."

Ginny's brown eyes widened and gave Harry a miniscule nod, letting him draw her back by his side. She didn't know much more about them than had been covered in some of her classes at Hogwarts but knew they weren't things to be taken lightly.

Lucius sneered at Harry but directed his words to Ginny. "As you brother said, you have no choice but to accept the marriage, Miss Weasley. It will take place one month from today. I bid you a pleasant evening. Come Draco, you'll have plenty of time to get to know your fiancée better after the ceremony." He handed the rolled up piece of parchment to Percy before sweeping out. Draco's eyes sparkled with malicious pleasure. He had finally bested Harry Potter in something. He had something that the boy-who-lived wanted. It didn't matter that he didn't particularly want her himself, he just knew that it would upset these blood-traitorous paupers. He would marry her, bed her and then if she proved unsatisfactory, he would get rid of her.

"You'd better remove your hands from the Weaslette. She's mine, Potter," he drawled, cold grey eyes gleaming with malevolence, and swept out after his father.

Percy gave a nervous cough. "It's for your own good, Ginny," he said condescendingly. "He's wealthy and you'll be well taken care of. You'll see it in time."

Ginny's eyes flashed warningly. "I'll never marry him. There's more to life than a vault full of galleons. But then Percy, you can't see that some things are above price. You couldn't see that your family loved you, your father died for the right cause, killed by the monsters you seem to be consorting with."

Percy hands tightened into fists. "As Lucius said, the wedding will take place a month from today," he said coldly, ignoring her words.

"Since when were you so friendly with the Malfoys, Percy?" she said accusingly. "You wouldn't have taken the mark, would you? Someone check his left forearm."

"Lucius Malfoy is one of the current major benefactors to St Mungo's hospital, where our mother is currently being treated…"

"How do you know that, Percy," snarled Ron. "You've never visited her."

"…and other Ministry charities. How dare you insinuate…" Percy's continued on, his face turning scarlet with anger and mortification. "You need…" he spluttered. "I would never…" He pulled himself up to his full height. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, you have just demonstrated that I was right in my actions. You need to show respect for proper authority."

"You pompous, stuck-up…" Ginny shrieked, breaking away from Harry to launch herself at Percy. Hermione threw her arms around Ginny and dragged her away from her elder brother with difficulty.

Harry stepped forward, green eyes cold with fury, his face set. "Do you realize what you have done?"

Percy took a nervous half-step backwards and then rallied, staring defiantly down his nose at Harry. Delusional liar or not, Harry Potter was still the Boy-who-lived and a powerful wizard. "I've done the best for my sister who obviously has no parental figure in her life at the moment."

"She has no 'parental figure' because of people like the Malfoys," Harry growled.

"I'm keeping her safe," shot back Percy stubbornly.

"From me?" Harry asked, his jaw tightening.

"Yes," said Percy defiantly. "No imaginary dark wizards or…"

"But Voldemort's no longer imaginary, Perce," Harry said tauntingly. "You saw him in the Ministry atrium just beside that stupid meaningless fountain. You were _there_."

"But it's _you_ he's after and I want her away from you. She will be safe with the Malfoys. Their manor is well-protected."

Harry's anger spiked inside him, hot and strong at the man's answer and he quelled the urge to hex Percy into unconsciousness. It would do him no favours to hex a Ministry official. "No, you're not keeping her safe at all, Percy. I broke our relationship to keep her safe and look what has happened. You would give her to a Malfoy, a member of a family who have always looked down on and ridiculed your own house. I suppose you do recall that Lucius Malfoy was the one responsible for giving Ginny Tom Riddles diary? She almost died then and you thanked me for saving her life. You're a blind, arrogant fool and have possibly just signed your sister's death warrant," Harry stated brutally. "Remember, I told the truth about Voldemort while you and the rest of the Ministry stuck your heads in the sand. But no, according to you, I wasn't telling the truth and warning the wizarding world. I was a delusional attention-seeking liar. Voldemort's still around and the Malfoys' allegiance is to him." He ignored Percy's wince at the mention of He-who-shall-not-be-named. "You are a small minded, petty, incompetent bureaucrat who wouldn't see reality if it bit you on the…"

Percy went pale. "You're exaggerating," he managed to say through stiff lips. "She'll be safe from you and everyone else."

"No, she won't be safe. Listen to yourself. They consider her to be a blood traitor – a _pure-blood_ traitor which, I suppose, is a bonus for you, otherwise they would have never sullied themselves with her presence at all. She'll be used to spy on _your_ family, me, Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix – all those that are against Voldemort. You've just sold your sister to the Dark Lord's right hand man. I hope you're proud of yourself. What about your brothers and your mother's safety? They're just as vulnerable to attack as Ginny is – as your father was. Have you checked Lucius and Draco Malfoys left forearms? I wouldn't be at all surprised if they're sporting a piece of interesting art."

Percy opened and shut his mouth.

"They'll breed from her," Harry continued coarsely, "and then when she tries to do the right thing, they'll kill her. I for one, won't allow that to happen."

Ron nodded vehemently, too angry to say anything. Hermione stood beside him, her fists clenched so tightly that the knuckles were white.

"Nor will we." Fred and George had aligned themselves at Harry's shoulder in support, their wands outstretched. "Get out _Weatherby_. You're not part of this family and are not welcome in this house. Go and join your new Death Eater family. I'm sure V..V..Voldemort would love to have you for afternoon tea."

"I'm going," Percy snapped, grabbing his bowler hat, which he'd laid on the table next to the brightly wrapped birthday gift. "But let me tell you this. The Ministry of Magic is keeping an eye on you, Potter. If anything happens to my sister we'll know who to blame."

"Yes," Harry said coldly. "We will. It will be completely _your_ fault and following that, the Malfoys." How could he ever have thought that Ginny would welcome this? He didn't know his feisty sister as well as he thought if he expected her just to submit to such a distasteful arrangement. He tried one last appeal to the uptight redheaded man. "Percy what's got into you? Think about Ginny."

Fred waved his wand in Percy's face. "We thought at first that he'd been Imperio'd but we just think it's his form of revenge on the family for not seeing how important he was. We know what a disloyal sod he really was. Prefects who gained power indeed. Gained it and then abused it. A bit like V…" Fred recalled a book Percy had read avidly during his tenure as Hogwarts' head boy.

Fred was as angry as Harry had ever seen him. The mischievous glint, so much a part of both the twins' expressions, was gone.

"You _bastard!" _Ginny, her eyes wet with tears and a steely hatred that Percy had never experienced before, walked towards them and stood next to Harry. Mumbling an incantation beneath her breath, she pointed her wand at her hapless brother and stood watching with grim satisfaction as he stumbled from the house, the bat bogeys flapping around him, before he finally apparated away.

Ginny turned to Harry and threw herself into his arms, burrowing her head in his shoulder.

"What are we going to do?" asked Fred, watching his sister worriedly.

Hermione sighed. "I don't know that there's anything we can do. I vote we contact Dumbledore. He'll surely have a better idea."

"I hope so. What do _you_ really think, Hermione?" Ron asked. He didn't like the idea of his sister being with anyone but to have her forcibly married to Malfoy was just horrific.

She picked up the rolled up parchment and opened it. "Ginny…"

"I don't want that anywhere near me," Ginny declared, lifting her head from Harry's shoulder. He moved them both out of the way. "I don't want to see it or touch it or even think about it."

"But…" Hermione didn't blame Ginny for refusing to touch it but the red-headed witch was going to have to deal with it at some point and soon. Quickly scanning through the document, the bushy-haired witch bit her lip. "It's probably been drawn up by the best magical legislators in the Ministry."

"Or the ones in Malfoy's pocket," muttered Ron.

"Probably one and the same. This looks binding," she whispered. "It's no joke. If we can't find a way of breaking this, Ginny will have to marry Malfoy." She held out the parchment to Harry. He looked at it but also didn't touch it, holding onto Ginny with both hands. No one but Ginny noticed. "There's another clause here," Hermione noted. "Ginny will be drawn to Malfoy. Its part of the magic spell ensuring that the marriage will take place. If she doesn't submit willingly…" Hermione stopped and swallowed. "She could go insane or lose her magic."

"What!" the boys all exclaimed.

Hermione swallowed, her eyes narrowing as she continued to read. "Then there is a list of the things that the Malfoy bride should and shouldn't do."

"I'm not marrying the ferret and that's final," Ginny hissed and ran into the kitchen.

"I'll go and speak to her." Harry looked at the family. "George – contact Charlie and Bill. They also need to know. Bill's a curse-breaker he might know of something."

"What about Mum?" asked the twins in unison.

"Is she up to this?" wondered Harry.

"She'll be madder than some of our garden gnomes if she's not told," said Ron. "Father hated Lucius Malfoy probably in the same way that we hate Draco."

"Your father's not here to help any more," said Hermione. "If he had been, this situation wouldn't have happened. Your mum should be told. She may even have an idea." Her look at Harry told him that she doubted it.

"Then tell her but try and keep it low key. Ginny's going to need all her family around her." Harry nodded at them all and slipped into the kitchen after Ginny. There was no way that the Malfoys were taking his girl from him. Not now that he knew that he wanted her back.

_**xxxxxxx**_


	8. Chapter 8

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 8**

"Ginny," Harry called softly as he pushed open the kitchen door.

"I have a month," she said, trying to scrub away the tears on her cheeks. "Just a month and then I'm to be fed to the Malfoys. I told you he was watching me. I just didn't realise why."

"And I believed you," Harry said sincerely, handing her a large dry dishtowel to wipe her eyes. "You can't marry him, Ginny, you just can't." He glanced at the kitchen door and then lowered his voice to a whisper. "We'll see what Dumbledore and the Order have to say about this and if that doesn't work…I may have an idea to get you out of this."

She stopped sniffing. "You do?"

"Yes," he looked at her steadily. "But you might not like it – that's if it works. It would be as a last resort."

Ginny's chin tilted proudly. "I cannot marry Malfoy, Harry. I heard what you said and I think that it's true that I'll be dead within months of bearing Malfoy a child. They'll use me for the succession and then…"

Harry bit his lip. "I'm sorry. I was trying to get through to Percy. I didn't mean to be so harsh."

"It's the truth, Harry. That's what will happen. I don't even want to be near to Malfoy and certainly not close enough to have to…" her face crumpled. "I wanted to have your children."

Harry pulled her to him and let her sob out her distress on his chest. Children with him were unlikely; he still had to survive Voldemort. "Ginny…" a few moments later he tipped up her chin with a gentle finger. "We have to decide on this right away – as quickly as possible. We don't have the luxury of a couple of months any more. They'll be watching your every move from now on and they'll be watching mine. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm escorted off this property very soon. As an unmarried male with an interest in you I'm a threat to their plans."

Ginny took a deep breath and Harry could see her attempting to recapture her Gryffindor spirit. "What's your strategy?" she asked.

"If all else fails. When I leave the wizarding world – you come with me," he murmured into her ear.

"But you said…"

"I know what I said," Harry muttered with a grimace. "Things have changed since this afternoon but there's a catch. We can't tell anyone where we're going – including your family and we're going to have to disappear quickly. The longer we wait around there is a chance that the marriage contract spell will start to affect you."

"Not tell anyone but…" If she told her family where she was going then they would get into trouble, perhaps even imprisonment and Ron could never keep a secret. The Malfoys would insist on having Snape brew _Veritaserum_ or something worse and their secrets would spill all over the place. The Order would be at risk as well. Then there were Harry's problems with his fading magic to consider. They would then know to look for them both in the Muggle world and if they found them… "Yes, I can see why. Merlin!" she swore.

Harry nodded. "And Ginny, to really throw them off the scent you're going to leave first. You're going to disappear off the magical radar."

"The what!"

Harry waved a hand in the air. "Radar – it's a Muggle thing. Aeroplanes have it so they don't bump into things like towers and mountains. You're going to run away. Leave a note for your brothers and disappear."

"I can see I've got a lot to learn," Ginny said dryly. "If that's what I have to do then I'll do it. I'll grab my Muggle Studies notes and start packing." She put her arms around Harry and hugged him. "What about the contract. Isn't there's a spell on it that will make me want to go to Malfoy?"

"Hermione says there is. It's supposed to aid with the…er…wedding night. Did you feel any compulsion at all to pick up the parchment?" Harry's green eyes bored into her. "Any at all?"

She stared up at him. "No. You said not to touch it."

"You haven't touched it at all?"

She shook her head. "I want nothing to do with it or Malfoy."

""Good girl," Harry said. "Continue to avoid it. However that might be difficult when Hermione starts waving it around in your face."

"Yes, it would be just like her to make me examine it just in case I spot something she might have missed." She sighed.

"Touching a magical parchment can sometimes mean that the proposal held within has been agreed upon." Harry turned to the sink and began filling the kettle. "It completes the charm."

Ginny started setting out mugs. "Where did you learn these things?"

"Remus, Tonks and Moody started drilling things into my head last summer and at various times throughout this year. I'm not as lazy about my schoolwork as Hermione makes me out to be – not these days. I've learned that many things can be disguised as a portkey, for instance." The Tri-Wizard cup, in which Harry had been unwillingly entered, had been disguised as a portkey, transporting Harry and another pupil, Cedric, Diggory, to a graveyard in Little Hangleton where Voldemort had been reborn using Harry's blood. Cedric Diggory had not been so lucky and had died there, murdered by Peter Pettigrew, the man who had betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort.

Ginny filled milk into the mugs. "Cedric," she said softly with understanding.

"Yes. I had no choice but to compete in the Tri-Wizard competition and you had no choice in this marriage arrangement either." He lifted the boiling kettle from the stove and poured the water into the teapot. "With any luck I've hopefully done something that will interfere with the effects of the marriage parchment. We want our right to choose what we do returned to us."

"The blood magic," Ginny said in comprehension.

"Blood magic is strong and I think I've tied you to me in some fashion…although," he frowned. "I'm not entirely sure how or what I've done and whether it's enough to free you from a marriage contract to Malfoy. I know that you don't want to marry him but if you continue to refuse, you will be forced to do it. The Malfoys are powerful wizards and despite the rise of Voldemort, they still find favour with the Ministry. They could break our link if they knew about it – it's too new."

"They would force me?" Ginny whispered. "Percy would…"

"Yes, I think he would. He's like Fudge and can't see what's really happening in the real world. Plus, his pride is now involved. In Percy's opinion, none of the family treated him with the awe a senior member of the Ministry should deserve. Your brother thinks that the backing of the Malfoy family will eventually see him into the top job in the Ministry." Harry had clearly seen the bitter frustration that Percy felt and then something the other wizard had said came into his mind. "Ginny, there's point here that Percy may have missed. You're not an underage witch. You may have been one when the contract was drawn up but it was presented to you on your seventeenth birthday."

For the first time Ginny smiled. "I'm not, am I?" She placed her head on Harry's shoulder. "How did you guess what Malfoy was up to?" Her eyes moved to his face. "Because you did guess."

"It was something that you said – '_blood traitors' _and I just had this feeling I'm so used to imagining the worst scenario that I was lucky and guessed rightfor once. Why else would Draco and Lucius turn up here? They've never hidden their disregard for your family. They consider you beneath them. You guessed it, too."

"It was just a feeling. Perhaps Dumbledore will have a solution," Ginny said hopefully.

"I doubt it." Harry muttered shaking his head. "But I'm willing to give him a chance. However, called me a cynic but I expect them to decide that you would be a useful spy for the Order of the Phoenix."

"That would be something."

"It wouldn't work. The Malfoys would expect that of you and would be using you for the same thing to spy on us. You would still have to marry Draco, sleep with him and all that entails." There was a rumble of sound from next door as the floo activated and the kitchen door creaked. "Go outside and pretend you've not been in the kitchen with me for long. I don't want anyone to think that we've been plotting."

_**xxxxxxx**_

There was a sudden whoosh of sound, the flames in the fireplace turned green and Albus Dumbledore stepped into the room. He held up his hands as four anxious faces turned to look at him. "I heard the news already from one of the Order members at the ministry. I fear there is nothing to be done."

"No," said Fred and George, their faces darkening with anger. "There has to be something we can do. Ginny cannot marry Draco Malfoy. She knows too much about the Order."

Dumbledore brushed the soot from his purple robes and surveyed the concerned and angry wizards around him before saying gravely. "Where is the actual document?"

Hermione handed him the parchment, the bright colours standing out on the cream background. "I've been studying it since Percy and the Malfoys left, Professor and I can't see anyway out of this for Ginny." She glanced up at the ancient wizard. "I'm not just worried for Ginny. I'm also concerned about Harry, Professor."

"I though he and Miss Weasley were no longer 'an item', I believe is the correct expression?" Dumbledore stared at the document. The amount of magic coming from such a small piece of parchment was astonishing but not surprising. Lucius Malfoy would ensure that it was done properly with no loose ends. The document was a work of calligraphic art and under different circumstances it would have been framed and hung in pride of place in the family home. Dumbledore couldn't help thinking that the former school governor was up to something more than arranging a pureblood bride for his son. Ginny Weasley gave the Malfoy's access to the Order of the Phoenix and ultimately to Harry Potter.

"They're not together as a couple, Professor," Hermione explained earnestly, even though she'd wondered at the clasped hands when they'd entered the house together. "But Harry only broke up with Ginny so that she wasn't such a target for Voldemort. He's suffered at the hands of the Malfoys, he doesn't trust them and he cares for Ginny as a _friend_. Again, he's losing someone he loves."

"Is that so, Miss Granger? You're right, it's hard for the boy but he has to keep strong and focused on the task ahead." The twinkle in his eyes dimmed. Harry Potter's current task seemed to be insurmountable. "I'll have to have a word with Harry about Miss Weasley. He will have to keep away from her until after she's married but he will not lose her in the way that he lost Sirius."

"After she's married we'll all have to keep away from her," George mumbled under his breath.

"Where are Harry and Ginny, Miss Granger?" asked Dumbledore.

"They're in the kitchen, Professor. I think Harry's making a pot of tea," Ron said.

"Call them, please," instructed the headmaster. "Ginny must be mindful of the marriage parchment's stipulations."

"But she didn't agree to any of this," snapped Ron.

"She didn't but tragically with your father dead, Bill and Charlie out of the country and your mother in St. Mungo's for the foreseeable future. Percy, I'm afraid has the right to arrange a betrothal for his sister. Unfortunately it wasn't something I thought would happen." Dumbledore took out his wand and performed some intricate movements above the parchment. "Mmm," he said. He adjusted his stance and mumbled an incantation. The parchment momentarily glowed a faint green and then returned to its creamy perfection. Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "You were right, Miss Granger. I cannot see any way out of this for Miss Weasley either."

"You're sure there's nothing we can do?" Ron asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "It's been very cleverly constructed. Miss Weasley will have to become a member of the Malfoy family whether she likes it or not." He pointed to a sentence written underneath a glowing silver and green family crest. "I cannot fault its creation. It's been done most thoroughly."

Hermione's eyes narrowed in thought. "Then we must find what may be advantageous for us about the situation and work out a way for Ginny to help the Order of the Phoenix."

Fred and George glared at Hermione as if she had two heads. "What!"

"If there is no way we can break the contract, Ginny will be living in Malfoy mansion," Hermione declared, her enthusiasm rising. "She could spend her time looking for dark arts artefacts and seeing if she can find out what Lucius Malfoy is up to. She could spy for the Order."

"It's dangerous," muttered Ron. "But she did always want to help in the fight against you-know-who. She would be in the right place to help."

"We would have to assume that the spying would work both ways. The Malfoys would want to use Ginny to spy on us," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "As you said," he inclined his head in the direction of the twins, "Miss Weasley is already aware of many things about the Order of the Phoenix. Professor Snape may be able to help us on this."

"Snape!" exclaimed Ron.

"Professor Snape," corrected Dumbledore mildly.

_**xxxxxxxxx**_

Fred and George found Harry alone in the kitchen, rummaging through cupboards. "Where's Ginny?"

"I think she went outside," he murmured, putting some plates on the table. "Wanted to be alone, I guess."

"We have to do something to help Ginny," Fred said, glancing anxiously at the door to the living room. "We're going to get no help from the Order on this one. Dumbledore just swished and flicked his wand a couple of times over the parchment and then gave up. Said it was impossible to undo and yes, it would be a good idea if Ginny spied on the Malfoys."

"We can't let this happen," George hissed. "They're going to sacrifice our sister to those…" He couldn't continue. "You-know-who's still out there and she's being…" He threw his hands into the air.

Harry looked at the twins and finalised something in his own mind. "Don't look Dumbledore directly in the eye. He can divine what you're thinking if he wants to. It's called legilimency."

"Okay," George said slowly. "Why would we do that?"

"The less you know about this the better but I have to do something and I will. Remember the occlumency lessons I made you work on after Sirius was killed?"

The twins nodded.

"Start practicing those again. I may have a plan to keep Ginny safe."

"Thank Merlin, Harry. What?"

"I'm not saying any more. You won't like it and it still might not work. They've not left us any time." He looked at them. "I will need access to half a dozen unauthorized emergency portkeys and a way to contact you in an emergency. Can you get this done by tomorrow at the latest?"

"Yes," Fred and George said in unison. "But wouldn't it be better if you asked Tonks?"

"I'm not involving Tonks or Lupin…or anyone else, for that matter," Harry stated. Fred and George may not have done well on their OWLS but Harry knew they were brilliant when they put their minds to it. "They have their careers to consider. We may need them at a later date."

"Not even…Ron?" Fred asked carefully.

"No. Ron can't keep a secret for long and this plan is dubious at best. Veritaserum, legilimency…" He shrugged. "These can all be used against us."

"And they would use them, wouldn't they?" George's mouth tightened.

"Yes. You two are used to planning pranks and keeping secrets. I need your evil plotting little minds."

"Less of the 'little', Harry," protested Fred.

Harry started pouring the tea. "I'll be at Hogwarts from tonight. Dumbledore will insist that I leave with him and I will reluctantly do what he asks."

George nodded and passed him a small box with a set of extendable ears fixed to the top and a set of luscious lips at the bottom. "We've been testing this for the Order. It's like a long range magic communication device."

"Yeah, like the mobile funs the Muggles have," chipped in Fred.

"Mobile phones," Harry corrected automatically.

"Use this and we'll hear you," George instructed.

"Thank you. I'll meet you in Hogsmeade tomorrow afternoon." Harry lowered his voice. "The underground passage which leads from Honeydukes sweet shop…"

"Got it," the twins said, their voices matching Harry's in volume.

"I'll go and speak to Dumbledore and you get Ginny." Harry sighed. He had to think fast or blood magic or no, Ginny would find herself married to Draco Malfoy and out of his reach. He composed himself ready to speak with Dumbledore. He was now proficient at occlumency but wasn't sure if he could really withstand the headmaster if he was truly determined to find out what Harry thought about this. It would be unusual for Harry to do nothing. He had too much to hide this time to allow his thoughts to be read.

Harry pushed open the kitchen door. "I've made tea," he said.

Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore seated themselves at the kitchen table. A couple of minutes later Fred and George led in a red-nosed, puffy-eyed Ginny, still clutching the dishtowel Harry had given her to wipe her eyes.

"How are you, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore enquired gently.

Ginny shrugged, sliding onto the seat across from Hermione. "I've been better," she muttered and shot Harry a smile as he pushed a large mug of tea towards her.

"It's got a dash of a calming potion in it, Gin," he said quietly.

"Thanks."

No one wanted to talk. What was there to say? Harry could already tell what Dumbledore's opinion was just by looking at Ron and Hermione.

Harry finished his tea and began to clear away the dishes. "You'll be coming to the party tomorrow, Professor?" he asked the aged wizard.

"Party!" Ginny said stunned. "But…"

"Your party should go ahead," Harry said, glancing at Fred and George for confirmation, hoping they would get the hint.

"If the event of the century is still going ahead we'll need to get back to the shop." The twins pulled out identical pocket watches. "We've…uh…left…"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Something that goes bang and turns everyone at the party into a canary."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"Hermione!" George exclaimed. "You'll spoil the surprise."

"Harry, old chap," Fred said, a wide smile on his face. "Could we presume on you to meet us in Hogsmeade and help us transport the spoils home in readiness for the do tomorrow?"

"Hey! Why not me?" asked Ron.

"Yeah," Harry echoed. "Take Ron." He looked at Ginny and then Dumbledore and frowned. "In fact, why do you need me at all? You can just shrink everything down and carry it yourself."

"I will need to get back to Hogwarts," Dumbledore declared unfolding himself from the chair. "If I could borrow the marriage parchment, I will have Filius Flitwick take a look at it and return it to you tomorrow, Miss Weasley…"

"Take it, Ginny said sullenly. "I don't want anything to do with it."

"As I said," Dumbledore said calmly. "I will return the document tomorrow when Professor McGonagall I attend your celebration of adulthood. Harry, if I may have a word?"

"Of course, Professor." Harry followed the headmaster outside.

"This matter is out of your hands," he said, his blue eyes staring into Harry's own. "You have other things to concentrate on."

Harry made certain that his occlumency shields were at their tightest. He had to make a token protest. The headmaster would expect him to. "I just want to help her. She doesn't want to marry Malfoy. She shouldn't have to – not if she doesn't want to. Lucius Malfoy's a death eater. We both know it and you're letting this farce continue. If you wanted to, you could stop this."

"I don't think there's anything to be done, Harry. Unfortunately, we have been outmanoeuvred in this. But I'm taking the contract to Hogwarts with me and will ask some of the staff to have a look at it." Dumbledore sighed, his face tired. He looked every one of his one hundred and fifty years.

Harry's eyes bored into Dumbledore's. "Order members only?"

Dumbledore noted the hostility in Harry's gaze and realized for the first time that it was directed at him and had been since Voldemort's last appearance in Hogsmeade. Was Voldemort possessing the boy again? But there was no gleam of red within the depths of clear green. His eyes were cloudless but antagonistic. Did Harry know about the curse and its effects? "Is there something you would like to tell me, Harry?"

"No."

He stared at the boy. No, he wasn't a boy now; the edges of manhood were stamped in the sharpening of the boy's jaw and in the bitter knowledge of his destiny in his green eyes. No matter how hard Dumbledore had tried, he'd been unable to prevent the lack of a proper childhood for Harry and if he was honest with himself, and the old wizard admitted that where Harry was concerned he'd often blinded himself to the boy's situation, the hostility now colouring their relationship had been growing since the death of Sirius Black. He couldn't tell Harry about the probable loss of his magic – not yet. Not when he was about to lose Ginny Weasley for good. He would do so… soon. Voldemort was being very quiet just now. There was always the possibility that he was planning something big. They would deal with it when it happened. But for now, the Dark Lord was quiet. Harry should have some time to be a normal eighteen year old boy.

"You know I would listen if you wanted to talk."

"I do." Harry turned to go back into the Burrow.

"Harry…"

The boy stopped and turned around, his gaze avoiding the headmaster's. Ah, so the occlumency shields were in force. But he suspected Harry would be trying to deal with what had just happened and he should give the young man some privacy.

"Your scar giving you any bother, Harry?"

Harry shook his messy black head. ""No, he's been strangely quiet of late."

"What about your dreams…any visions?"

A strange quirk tipped up the corner of Harry's mouth. "Nothing. Tom's been _very_ quiet and I'm catching up on my sleep. He must be planning something."

Dumbledore stared at Harry, the boy's words echoing his own conclusions. There was a note in the boy's voice that he hadn't heard before and the old wizard wondered at it. Harry tended to act first and think later. If he thought that Ginny Weasley was in any sort of danger, Harry would try to save her. It would be far too dangerous to meddle with a Ministry approved marriage contract. "Harry," he said kindly. "Because of the Malfoy's offer for Miss Weasley, it might be better if you removed yourself from The Burrow."

"Removed!" Harry's head shot up. "Why?" he growled.

"You are not a relation or a female friend. Your name was also linked with Miss Weasley's. If there is any impropriety, the Ministry of Magic would have the power to punish her and possibly arrest you."

"Arrest me!" Harry echoed. "Merlin's beard!" he swore, not caring that Dumbledore heard him. "So, by wanting to keep my best friend's sister safe from a pack of Death Eaters I could get arrested and thrown into Azkaban. Hell, I could share a cell with some of Lucius' friends. The Ministry would love to do that to me. They still can't decide whether I'm sane or not and there are those, just as deluded as Voldemort, who would like to see me following their twisted political agenda."

"I suggest that you come back to Hogwarts with me for tonight."

"But I was invited to The Burrow. Yes, Ginny is my friend but so are Ron and Hermione."

"Miss Weasley's situation changes everything, Harry. Come and spend a few days at Hogwarts with us. You can floo back for the party tomorrow."

"Sure, why not," Harry muttered. "I've nowhere else to go apart from Grimmauld Place and I don't fancy going there tonight." He didn't look pleased about having to leave The Burrow. "I'll go and get my stuff."

"Harry…"

The green eyes flicked up to the headmaster. "I understand, sir, but I'm not giving up until I'm positive that there's nothing I can do. Ginny has a month and I'm going to use that time to free her." He stared at his hands for a moment and then said, "I'll just be a moment. I'll say my goodbyes to the others and collect my things."


	9. Chapter 9

**The Unbreakable Vow**

**By Ash Darklighter**

**Disclaimer – The characters in this story all belong to MS Rowling. I'm not making a knut from any of this.**

**Part 9**

"Sure, why not," Harry muttered. "I've nowhere else to go apart from Grimmauld Place and I don't fancy going there tonight." He didn't look pleased about having to leave The Burrow. "I'll go and get my stuff."

"Harry…"

The green eyes flicked up to the headmaster. "I understand, sir, but I'm not giving up until I'm positive that there's nothing I can do. Ginny has a month and I'm going to use that time to free her." He stared at his hands for a moment and then said, "I'll just be a moment. I'll say my goodbyes to the others and collect my things."

Harry was as good as his word, he returned five minutes later, a rucksack slung across his thin shoulders.

Dumbledore's eyes were dull. This was another blow that the boy had to bear. It didn't matter that Harry and Miss Weasley weren't together in the way that they had been a couple of years ago; there was still a strong visible tie between them. He held out the tin of lemon drops in his pocket and Harry stretched out his hand.

The usual feeling grabbed him by the navel and the sensation of being sucked through a small tube and squeezed out the other side left him vaguely nauseous. Scowling, Harry picked himself up from the floor of Dumbledore's office. "I really don't enjoy travelling by portkey," he muttered.

Dumbledore, who had already seated himself behind his desk, chuckled.

"I really don't," Harry repeated. "Not since the tournament." He picked up the rucksack without noticing the smile fading from the headmaster's face. "Usual place?" Harry asked without really expecting an answer.

"Dobby!" Dumbledore called. There was a crack and the house elf Harry had rescued from Lucius Malfoy appeared draped in a peculiar outfit of woollen scarves and stripy mismatched socks.

Harry Potter, sir," the elf squeaked excitedly.

"Dobby," said the headmaster. "Could you see that Harry's room in the Gryffindor guest suite is prepared? He'll be staying with us for a few days."

Something about seeing the little elf gave Harry's wounded spirits a lift. Dobby had been liberated from the clutches of Lucius Malfoy through Harry's intervention. It was a good omen – a very good omen.

"I'll see you at dinner, Harry." Dumbledore peered at the boy over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

Harry nodded and left the headmaster's office. He headed to his room and dumped the rucksack on the floor next to the four-poster bed. He had some thinking to do. He wandered slowly to the window and stared out at the distant view of the quidditch pitch framed by the Scottish hills and as he did so, an owl flew lazily by heading for the owlery. Harry drew himself up. If that was Hedwig?

He dug into his rucksack and pulled out a tattered piece of parchment, his father's invisibility cloak and the device the Weasley twins had presented him with. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The Marauder's map formed in front of his eyes. Checking the whereabouts of the staff present in the castle during the summer holidays, he was pleased to see that no one was near his intended destinations.

Slipping from the room, he headed first to the owlery. As expected, his faithful owl had a sixth sense where her master was concerned. "Hey, old girl." Hedwig preened herself looking pleased. Harry offered her some owl treats. "Hedwig, I need you to deliver some letters for me. It's the plan. We're starting early," he said softly, stroking her white feathers. "This," he fastened a letter to her leg. "It goes to Gringotts and then I want you to go to Grimmauld Place."

He then stared at the magical mobile phone and lifted it to his ear. It looked strange but Fred and George were geniuses in their field even if Harry wasn't always sure what the current field was. "Fred…George?"

"Harry, my boy, how spiffing to hear from you so soon," they yelled happily at the other end.

"You don't need to shout," Harry said, the first smile forming on his face all day as he held the device well away from his suddenly beleaguered ear. "Can you meet me now instead of tomorrow?"

"Where?"

Harry thought quickly and glanced at his watch. He didn't have a lot of time before the evening meal but there wasn't a lot to say. The less said the better. "Not the Honeyduke's passage. It'll be closed at this time of night."

"The one that leads to the Shrieking Shack." decided George. "It's still open."

"Perfect," said Harry. "I'm on my way. He placed the object back in his pocket and slipped the invisibility cloak over his head. Even at Hogwarts he was watched – especially now.

Harry could see the Womping Willow up ahead – a magical tree with wildly flailing branches which disliked anybody or anything in its vicinity. He and Ron had crashed the flying car into it in their second year and had barely made their escape without suffering serious injury. The tree had been planted the year that his father, Sirius and Remus Lupin, the werewolf, had arrived at Hogwarts. He slipped his wand out of his holster and took a deep breath. This wasn't good for him but, it wasn't a spell that would take much of his waning power. "Immobulus!" The tree stilled and Harry dashed below the branches. On the way past, his fingers found the knot on the tree trunk, pressed it firmly and the branches recommenced swirling menacingly around him as he slipped into the secret passage below.

"Harry, is that you?"

"I hope so," he said, trying to control the sudden feeling of dizziness as the Weasley twins came into view. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

"Proof enough," ginned Fred, or was it George?

"This will only take a few minutes. I'm expected in the great hall for dinner," Harry said wearily.

"You said you had a plan."

Harry was sure that it was George who'd asked the question. "Yes, I have a plan of sorts."

"And?" the twins chorused together.

"I need to be able to contact you at any time without anyone else knowing or hearing. Just in case there's trouble."

"We've done that for you already. The mobile 'fun' should do the trick." They waved a boxy object in Harry's face, the extendable ears wobbling on the side. "You keep the one we gave you and we've got this one."

He shook his head, green eyes serious. "No, it's too open. Anyone could listen in and you still shout into it."

"This is open?" the twins muttered together. "We can whisper."

Harry dug into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a wrapped package. Carefully unwrapping it, he handed Fred a badly cracked mirror. "It's a two-way mirror. I have the other one in Grimmauld Place. I'm sorry it's cracked. Sirius gave it to me and I broke it after he…" Harry stopped. His godfather's death had the power to wound him still. "I couldn't seem to repair it. I tried 'Reparo' but nothing happened."

Fred inspected the object carefully. "How does it work?"

Harry flushed. "It doesn't work very well. In fact, your mirror will only receive messages. I should be able to contact you, but you can't contact me. Remus and I tried it to no avail. I say your name and the mirror will buzz…"

"You're planning…"

"Don't say it or even think it." Harry held up his hand in a staying motion.

"Otherwise the information could get to the wrong people." Fred's mouth straightened. He had his suspicions what the younger boy might have in mind but he was careful not to voice them out loud.

"If this plan works at all, that is," Harry admitted quietly.

George looked grim. "Dumbledore wasn't optimistic about Ginny's chances."

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stem the headache he knew was coming. "Neither am I. How is she?"

Fred scowled. "Upset, but vowing to make the Malfoys regret this and as for Percy…"

George grinned. "Percy will require round-the-clock Auror protection if Ginny is allowed anywhere near him."

Harry's mouth twitched into a reluctant smile. "That's my girl." He lifted up his arm and glanced at his watch. "Look guys, I'd better get going. They'll be watching me closer than ever, Dumbledore included, and as I said I've been requested to appear for dinner in the great hall with the remaining staff this evening."

"Because of Ginny," said George.

"Yes. I should never have kissed her after that quidditch game the first time two years ago. In my defence, I couldn't help myself."

Fred nudged George. "You didn't have much choice, mate. She would have grabbed you eventually. In fact wasn't she the one…"

George nodded in agreement. "Breaking it off to save her life wouldn't have cut it with her either, mate. She's nothing if not determined is our Ginny. She goes for what she wants and if what she wants is you…"

"That doesn't matter. Keeping her safe and out of Malfoy hands does." Harry looked at his watch again. "Did you manage to make the portkeys I asked?"

"We'll have them for you by tomorrow," said Fred. "Plus a stack of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' newest items. We need to check the shop in any case."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

It had been a long and trying afternoon at The Burrow when they'd returned for Ginny's birthday celebration the following day and the whole thing had left Harry with a dull, throbbing ache in his head. Ginny had tried to be bright for her guests but it had been apparent to all that her heart hadn't been in it. It had been especially awkward when Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt had turned up on behalf of the Ministry to watch and supposedly protect Ginny. Tonks had looked upset and Kingsley, uncomfortable. They knew that the wrong people were being punished. Harry, Minerva and Dumbledore had stayed for as long as they could and then flooed back to the school.

"Sir?" Harry sat next to the headmaster at dinner the following evening. "I've been thinking about the situation and have decided that you have a valid point where Ginny and I are concerned. We were and still are very close. I'm not going to stop trying to prevent Ginny's marriage to Malfoy but I know now that I can't stay at The Burrow. I don't want to cause any trouble."

"I hadn't expected Mr. Weasley to send aurors, Harry," Dumbledore admitted. "Percy has changed very much since he was Head Boy here at Hogwarts."

"I wouldn't have harmed her," Harry said in a low voice that the headmaster had to strain to hear. "She's safer with me than with Malfoy."

"I know," Dumbledore said softly.

"At least it was members of the Order that came to watch over her," Harry murmured. "What could I do? I thought Percy knew me better than that."

"We've not given up yet, Harry," Dumbledore murmured calmly.

Harry chewed at his lip for a moment and then said quietly. "Yes, you have."

"Harry…" Dumbledore began and then stopped.

The young wizard shook his head as he didn't want to hear any more excuses, grabbed his glass, swallowed a last mouthful of pumpkin juice and then held up several books on defensive and offensive magic he'd borrowed from Madam Pince, the Hogwarts' librarian, the previous evening. "I'm going to have a flick through these tonight and see if there's anything interesting and then tomorrow I'm returning to Grimmauld Place and I'll take Dobby with me."

"It's probably for the best." Dumbledore declared. "I was going to arrange for Kingsley and Tonks to give you some more training. I had a brief word with them while we were at The Burrow. You would be far closer to auror headquarters if you made Grimmauld Place your permanent base."

"That would be acceptable if they're willing," Harry said stiffly. "I need to improve my fitness and stamina."

The headmaster heard the ice in the boy's voice and wondered how he was ever going to repair the damage between them. "It's for your own good, Harry."

"Really," mumbled Harry. "My own good!" He shook his head and winced. The headache was definitely there and had been all day. The only positive thing about this headache was that Voldemort had nothing to do with it. "How many times have I heard that one? I'm sure you'll understand when I say that I'm having a difficult time believing in all the things that are done for my own good."

"Harry…" Dumbledore stopped. Did the boy suspect that there were other things he was not being told? Harry was far from stupid and as he grew older was far more difficult to keep in ignorance. Yes, he was going to have to do some serious repair work on their relationship and tell Harry the truth very soon.

At the other end of the table Poppy Pomfrey, the Hogwarts matron, was keeping a careful eye on one of her most frequent patients. She'd already heard the news about Ginny Weasley's forthcoming marriage. The enmity between Potter and Malfoy had been apparent all through their school years and she didn't think that it would disappear as they grew older. Not when they had such different loyalties. The strain on the young man's face was clearly visible.

"Mister Potter," she called brusquely.

Harry lifted his head and glanced down the table. "Madam Pomfrey?"

"If you would accompany me to the infirmary, I will give you something to clear that headache."

"Thank you."

"Headache?" asked Dumbledore. "Voldemort?"

"No," Harry said with a grimace of stifled pain. "No, it's not a Voldemort sort of pain. I've had it all day." He gave another slight wince. "I've had worse." He excused himself from the table, nodded carefully at Professor Sprout, and ignored Snape. Had the man noticed that Voldemort was being unusually quiet? Had the mark on his left arm, in the last three weeks, faded or changed in any way? Had he talked to the Malfoys? If he had, he wasn't talking to anyone else about it, namely Dumbledore, and Snape certainly wouldn't talk to Harry.

He didn't notice the Potion's Professor's dark eyes following him as he made his way after the school nurse. Potter did seem to be a little out-of-sorts and far less arrogant than he usually was. Snape had heard about the Malfoy-Weasley betrothal but the only one that appeared to be happy about it was Lucius and strangely the bride-to-be's brother, Percy Weasley. The Slytherin head of house knew for a fact that Draco Malfoy had no desire to wed and bed the only Weasley girl to be born in several generations no matter how powerful she could become. He had been having a passionate dalliance with Pansy Parkinson long before they were of legal age to do so. But pureblood families didn't make love matches - they made advantageous political alliances. So why hadn't Lucius contracted Draco to Parkinson?

Poppy Pomfrey and Harry didn't talk on their way to the infirmary. Harry didn't want the risk of being overheard and he guessed that Poppy didn't either. In Hogwarts, the walls did indeed have ears and the portraits could gossip faster than Harry had once caught the snitch.

Through here, Harry," Poppy ushered him into her office. She drew a curtain over the portrait of a stout witch in a matron's uniform and with a couple of flicks of her wand put up an imperturbable charm. Finally, she pushed a small vial of a reddish liquid across her desk towards him. "Drink this."

Harry did as he was told but made a face at the taste.

"I didn't say that it was pumpkin juice," the nurse said tartly.

"One of Snape's?"

"No, one of mine," she said and then chuckled at the look on Harry's face. "And it's Professor Snape. It would taste far worse if it was one of the potion master's creations." She motioned to one of the comfortable chairs. "Sit down, Harry. Does this change things?"

Harry didn't need to know how she knew. He wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore hadn't informed most of the castle's residents including the portraits and the ghosts as soon as it had happened. News travelled fast in a place like Hogwarts. "Change things?" he asked, thinking hard.

"You were fond of Ginny Weasley."

"More than fond," Harry admitted slowly. "We broke up two years ago when the war escalated to keep her safe. But I always hoped once V…You-know-who, was destroyed that there might be a chance for us. But Dumbledore says there's no way out of this marriage contract for her. The document has been drawn up by the best wizards in the Ministry of Magic, including her own brother. It looks ironclad."

"In the magical world maybe," Poppy said thoughtfully. "You _could_ take her with you, Harry. After all, you were planning to go into hiding."

"We discussed it," Harry agreed. "You said it was probably my best option but it's more difficult to run with two than alone." He examined his fingernails as if they were the most fascinating things in the room. "I don't know if she would want to leave everything…her family, her magic and come with me."

"You-know-who…"

"Won't be a problem for a while," Harry said thoughtfully. "He suffered a big defeat at Hogsmeade but that won't help Ginny."

"The headmaster doesn't know about this."

"He knows about the defeat – he was there, after all. But he doesn't know how big a defeat it actually was." Harry's face hardened. "He will eventually."

Madam Pomfrey began sorting bottles of potions into a container. "Is this fair, Harry?"

"Is it fair what they've done to me?"

The mediwitch's hands stilled, her face appalled. "Dumbledore still hasn't told you?"

Harry sat back in the chair and looked at her. "What do you think? All the things he promised to do after Sirius died haven't happened. He's not continued to keep me properly informed. I suspect he's on the point of telling me and then decides not to. He wants to spare me from more pain," he said cynically. "Doesn't he realise that it's too late for that now?" He looked defeated, his face young and vulnerable. "I used a spell yesterday and felt so tired."

She glanced over her shoulder and shook her head at him. "You shouldn't have been doing spells. That's what probably brought on your headache. That and stress. Silly boy, what did I tell you?"

"Yes, I know. I hate deceiving the Order like this but until Dumbledore comes clean and tells me the truth…" His gaze dropped to his fingernails again. "I've been trying to avoid doing magic as much as I can but it's difficult not to sometimes. In the muggle world everything is done without magic. There are solutions for nearly every problem but here there's no avoiding it."

"Then you need to go and soon. The headaches will just get worse and the magic will drain away faster – a complete break is the only solution. I'm surprised you're still able to do any spells at all."

"I'm stronger than you think."

"That must be the case," she said briskly. "But you will need to clear the air with Albus. You must tell him, Harry. It isn't just Dumbledore that's fighting You-know-who." She returned to her sorting.

"Can I help?" Harry asked after a small silence.

"No, I've got this covered. These are for you to take with you when you go. Some basic potions just in case there's a medical emergency." She pulled open a drawer and produced a small glass jar containing a bezoar. "All wizarding households should have one," she said.

"What else?" Harry said, his interesting rising.

Poppy chuckled. "These are blood-replenishing potions. You should know that by now. I've forced enough of them down your throat. Since you've arrived in Hogwarts I've had to restock certain remedies more often since the days that your father and Sirius Black were pupils."

"I know that one." He pointed at a couple of large jars containing a thick yellowish substance. It's bruise-healing paste.

"Good Mr. Potter. Professor Snape will be delighted you've managed to learn something in his class."

"You know Snape couldn't bear the sight of me in his class and still can't," Harry said with a wry smile.

"Yes, I know and he's in the wrong but you didn't help matters any and it's Professor Snape."

"He started it," Harry returned shortly. "I am not my father. And I didn't learn about bruise-healing paste in his class. I learned about it from you. I've had that slapped on various parts of my anatomy every time I come into this infirmary."

"Yes, because you'd fought a basilisk, a possessed professor or merely fallen off your broom at a height of fifty feet. I'm also including a vial of calming draught, some burn-paste, some dreamless sleep, pepper-up potion… It's very good if you have a cold…"

"I know. You've shoved several gallons of that down my throat, too, Poppy, and I'm grateful."

The witch smiled at him. "I want you to keep taking the magic strengthening tonic I prescribed you. It should continue to build your core." She glanced through her stores and added a couple more bottles. "One last thing…" She pulled from her desk drawer an enormous slab of Honeyduke's chocolate. "I remember your third year and those dementors." Pulling out her wand, she gave the container a small tap and it shrunk small enough to go in his pocket. "There's a stasis charm on the potions so they'll keep. That should do even _you_ for a long while."

"You wound me, Poppy," Harry said with a smile, his hand across his heart. "Are you hinting that I might be a little accident prone?"

"Out and out reckless, Mr. Potter," Poppy returned evenly.

"I just do what needs to be done," he said.

"That's what worries me." She'd grown very fond of this particular boy over the years he'd spent under her care. He'd had a lot to contend with and still, he tried to do the right thing. "Harry," she said quietly, her face serious beneath her starched white cap. "If you need my help at any time please get in touch."

"But…"

"Patient confidentiality, Harry. It means that I can help you without anyone knowing…if that is what you want." She lifted her hand and touched his cheek. "You belong in the wizarding world but you have to go away to recover your power and that's a decision I, as your healer, advise you to take."

"Poppy…"

"Harry, you know that the headmaster doesn't wish you ill."

Harry sighed, his green eyes darkening with pain. "Yes, I know but I'm tired of fighting him, Poppy. I'm tired of been manipulated and lied to, even by omission. I'm tired of other people making decisions for me without consultation. They think they know better but so far I can't say that I've been impressed. He'll continue to use me until I'm dead."

Poppy Pomfrey gave a reluctant nod. Harry Potter may look like his father but he thought like his mother once had. Lily Potter would not have been happy with the way her son had been raised and the constant pressure he now found himself under.

"I want to live an ordinary life, Poppy. I want my magic back at full strength. I know it's my supposed destiny, Poppy. But I'm a human being not just a weapon and all Dumbledore does these days is talk about training me to defeat Vol… Sorry," he apologized. "You-know-who."

Poppy drew in her breath at the mention of the dark lord. "It's alright, Harry. Now before you go, I think I should check your magical reserves."

"They might be lower tonight. I told you that I had to cast a spell yesterday and earlier on today."

"I'll take that into consideration," he mediwitch said briskly. "Now, if you could stand up for me. That's it."

She took out her wand and waved it in a complicated series of flicks around Harry's head, finally conjuring a long tube which placed itself on her desk. "Now we shall see." Again from her wand, the tube began to fill with different colours. They swirled around frantically in a magical dance until gradually the colours stilled and settled.

"How bad is it, Poppy?"

Poppy's lips trembled as she let out a sigh of what could have been relief. "Better than I hoped Mr. Potter. When I first performed this test three weeks ago, it was nearly all black."

Harry gazed at the tube. "It still is nearly all black," he said almost smiling.

"No, there's been a change since then. Look, scarlet and gold have emerged." She was right. Thin threadlike rings of colour were interspersed evenly throughout the black.

"Gryffindor colours," Harry commented quieH Harry commented quietly.

"Yes. But if you look very carefully you will also see green and silver. The whole spectrum of colours are contained within your magic."

"It's still not enough to defeat V…you-know who." He stared curiously at the bottom of the tube which, he'd thought at first was more of the black but instead it was a sort of sludgy brown colour. To Harry it didn't look healthy.

Poppy pointed to the sludge. "That horrible colour means that we managed to save your magic and it will recover in time."

Harry managed a brief grin and nodded at the tube. "How are we going to keep this from Dumbledore?"

"We'll manage somehow." With another wave of her wand, the tube vanished. "If you don't tell him, he's going to guess once you vanish into hopeful anonymity that you knew more than you were letting on."

"Then tell him I was treated at St. Mungo's and you don't know what the outcome was. He sent me there. I just came to you now for a headache potion, that's innocent enough."

The mediwitch rolled her eyes. "He'll know that you knew and kept it from him."

"He kept it from me," Harry said mulishly. "I was going to leave and note and a bottle for his pensieve collection."

It was important to remove Poppy from any blame. Harry embraced the older woman warmly. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I will let him know why I've gone but not until I have. He would try to stop me." Harry gave a wry smile. "It would be for my own protection of course."

"Good luck, Harry."

They both knew that it would be a while before they saw one another again.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	10. Chapter 10

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 10**

Harry hated Grimmauld Place but it was the one place in London that he could go where he was relatively safe behind its gloomy façade. It belonged to him now that Sirius was gone but he still continued to let the Order use it for meetings. Voldemort's disappearance was only temporary and once they realised this, there were always his disgruntled supporters to think about. He still needed somewhere they couldn't touch him. They would be throwing all their expertise and resources into resurrecting the Dark Lord. "Dobby!" he called dumping his rucksack on the kitchen table. "Dobby!"

"Harry Potter, Sir."

Harry grinned. He knew that the faithful little house elf would have followed him to Grimmauld Place. "I need you to take a message to Miss Weasley - she's at The Burrow. But you mustn't be seen." He pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled a quick message. Hedwig, in her snowy magnificence, was too distinctive to use.

"Dobby can do that, Sir," squeaked the elf, accepted the folded piece of parchment and with a loud crack, vanished. He was back moments later.

"Thank you, Dobby. Did she get the note?"

"Dobby is happy to help Harry Potter, sir. Miss Wheezy was very pleased to see Dobby."

Harry glanced at the clock. He still had time to get to Gringotts. They wouldn't act without him appearing personally. "There's an Order of the Phoenix meeting here tonight, Dobby," Harry said. "Do you think you could make supper?"

"Dobby would be delighted."

Harry smiled warmly at the little elf. "I'm going to nip out for a while. I need to get some things in Diagon Alley."

"Dobby will have everything ready."

Harry smiled, grabbed his invisibility cloak with one hand and some floo powder with the other, pulled the cloak over his head and stepped into the fire. "The Leaky Cauldron!" he enunciated clearly. He didn't fancy a trip to Knockturn Alley this time. In his defence, it had been the first time that he'd used floo powder. He'd never made that mistake again.

If anyone thought it strange that the floo in the Leaky Cauldron activated and no one appeared there was nothing said or done about it. The pub was fairly empty but that didn't surprise Harry. Since Voldemort had returned, people were frightened and didn't linger long away from the safety of their homes. He followed a nervous looking witch to the back courtyard, waiting as she tapped the bricks revealing the entrance into Diagon Alley.

The return of Voldemort had been hard on the wizarding community and for the shopkeepers in Diagon Alley in particular. Witches and wizards were wary of congregating in large numbers in any public places, especially when random Death Eater raids occurred on a frequent basis. Several of the shops were boarded up and the whole scene was worlds away from Harry's first joyous glimpse of this strange new magical world seven years ago. Fear was a powerful emotion and the Dark Lord played upon that very cleverly.

Following the witch along the street, he had to smile when she dashed into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Fred and George were right, Harry decided as he quickly made his way towards the skewed magnificence of Gringotts. People need to laugh more than ever during darker times.

Reaching the entrance to the bank without incident, he moved behind a pillar and pulled off the invisibility cloak, stuffing it into his rucksack. The goblin-run bank had been the first truly grand building he'd entered as a wizard and its splendour had always impressed him but today it meant nothing. Keeping his head down, he entered the building, ignoring the beautiful marble flooring, gilt decoration and stunning chandeliers, and kept walking until he arrived at the information goblin at the desk.

"I need to see Griphook," he hissed quietly. "It's about the other matter – the private matter. I contacted him by owl a couple of days ago."

"Of course, Harry Potter," the goblin said in a low voice. "Your owl brought a request detailing your wishes with regards to part of your bequest from the will of the late Sirius Black."

"Yes." Harry looked up quickly and then glanced to his left. A goblin had appeared next to him with the swiftness of apparition. "Griphook?"

The goblin inclined his head. "This way, Mr. Potter." Harry followed the goblin into a small office where Griphook motioned the young wizard to a chair. "Please sit. We will not be overheard here."

"Good." Harry clasped his hands tightly together. "Sirius spoke to you about this?"

"Your probable need to leave the wizarding world for a short period of time and the secrecy needed? Yes. Your godfather and I did discuss this before his most unexpected and unfortunate death." The goblin inclined his head. "But this is sooner than was proposed."

"It is." Harry shrugged. "But there's nothing I can do about that. Unfortunately, things have moved well out of my control."

"Two properties were purchased early last year on your behalf, Mr. Potter."

"Two!" Harry echoed. "Why would I need two?"

"Mr. Black indicated that whatever may happen to him, we were to go ahead with this. You retain control of Grimmauld Place and the various Potter inheritances but as I mentioned, two properties were purchased by Muggle methods."

"And no one apart from you and Sirius knew?" Harry asked anxiously. "Dumbledore wasn't informed or anything?"

"He was not. Sirius Black was most insistent that this be kept from everyone. Only Mr. Black and you, Mr. Potter were to be notified."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I would like it kept that way."

Griphook slid a dark blue folder bearing the Gringotts seal across the desk to Harry. "The details," he intoned solemnly.

Carefully Harry broke the seal and opened the folder and two glossy property schedules slipped out. "It's a flat," he said stupidly.

"In Muggle London as requested," Griphook said.

Harry read the particulars and scanned the still Muggle photographs with interest. "It's furnished?"

"Two bedrooms, fully furnished with something called gas central heating. Security entrance…"

Harry glanced at the address. "It's only minutes from the Leaky Cauldron," he interrupted the goblin anxiously. "Wouldn't that be too close?"

"Mr. Black felt that a close location to the magical world might provide a good cover. It's on the cusp, so to speak. Close enough to mask any magical signatures but outside the magical barrier into Muggle London itself. Wizards, like Muggles, do not always see what is directly under their noses."

"What about the second property?" Harry asked anxiously, hands already opening the schedule. He gave a soft gasp, his eyes drinking in the image of a dilapidated house surrounded by trees. "This one's in Scotland?" he queried softly, lifting his head to glance at the goblin.

"About three or four hours flying from Hogwarts, I believe. It may take longer if Muggle transport is involved."

Harry tried to do the calculations in his head. "Where exactly is it?" he asked.

"Upper Speyside…distillery country," commented Griphook. "The area is known for the brewing of a superior brand of single malt firewhisky." The goblin smiled. "The second property is more of a renovation project. That, I believe is another Muggle term."

"It looks perfect," Harry said staring at the picture of the house. It was a two-storey cottage and what must have been a couple of barns attached forming three sides of a square around a central courtyard. "Twenty minutes from the nearest town, set in five acres of land," he read softly. "Yes," he repeated. "Perfect."

His Aunt Petunia had enjoyed watching television programmes where people did up old neglected houses. Ginny would love it and, more importantly, she would be safe. They would move to the flat for the first few months while they both adjusted to hiding in the Muggle world and then perhaps move to the house in Scotland once it was ready for habitation.

He scanned the photographs carefully. He'd spent so much time at the Dursleys acting as a sort of unofficial handyman he thought he could do something with it. "I could do some of the work myself but…" He paused as he read more information. "There's a lot there that I wouldn't be confident or comfortable attempting - electrics and plumbing mainly." He glanced at Griphook. "Could you find me an architect and the necessary tradesmen to make the building habitable?"

"Already done, Mr. Potter." Griphook snapped his fingers and another blue folder appeared on the desk. "There are several designs from several renowned Scottish architects. None of them are from the wizarding world. Our agents are very discreet. If you want wizarding features…"

Harry blinked. Goblin efficiency was impressive. He hadn't even known there was such a thing as a wizarding architect. "I don't require wizarding features at the moment, thank you." He didn't want to draw unwelcome attention to himself and Ginny. They had to live as Muggles as best they could. "Maybe one day…"

"You'll be the secret keeper yourself, Mr. Potter? I would suggest the Fidelius Charm."

The Fidelius charm. Harry blinked again, as the words conjured up the past and the parents who had been betrayed. "Yes." He didn't want to place the heavy burden of such secrecy on anyone. It wasn't that he didn't trust them; he didn't want them to have to deal with the responsibility. However, there was a problem with the Fidelius charm. Harry didn't think he would be able to perform it.

"Is there anything else, Mr. Potter?" Griphook pushed several sets of keys across the desk along with various pieces of parchment to sign.

Harry took a moment to check the documents and then dipped the eagle owl quill into the ink ready to sign his name at the bottom of each. "Yes. I need to make sure that I have a steady monthly income available to me through the muggle banks. It may not be possible for me to access my Gringotts vaults for some time. I am planning to find employment but it might not be so easy to start with."

The goblin bared uneven, yellowing teeth in what Harry supposed was a smile and pushed several more pieces of parchment across the desk. "All taken care of."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "Goodness," he managed to utter softly.

"You are not the first wizard we have helped into hiding and you will not be the last - not during these troubled times. You are a valuable customer, Mr. Potter. We want to keep it that way." Griphook reached behind him and passed Harry a small box. "We took the liberty of altering your name."

"Of course," said Harry, feeling a little stupid. But he guessed that he couldn't exactly go into hiding as Harry Potter. Death Eaters weren't that dim.

"This contains all your personal identification documents. Passport, driving license, bank cards…"

Harry turned the tiny key and opened the box. "Mr. Gary Peters," he said aloud with a faint frown. Picking up the passport, he flicked though the empty pages until he came to the one with his new name and photograph. "Gary Peters," he repeated. It felt strange. Strange and yet similar. It was only a couple of letters away from his own name, which would make it easier to adjust to and yet, it felt worlds away.

"If you decide to change your appearance, which I would suggest, the pictures on the identity cards will change to match the way you look."

Harry took a careful breath. "It's likely that I won't be travelling alone. Would it be possible to have similar things issued to someone else?"

Griphook stared at Harry, a knowing look in his beady little eyes, and the young man squirmed. "Would this be the Weasley daughter?" the goblin enquired cautiously. "The betrothed of the Malfoy heir?"

Harry hesitated. "What makes you think that?" he asked. How had the goblin known? He would have to deny it.

Griphook sat back in his chair, steepling long spindly fingers in front of him, and assessed the young wizard sitting on the opposite side of the desk. "Anything said between us is confidential, Mr. Potter. I cannot repeat it to any of my colleagues outside of this room owing to the wards. We goblins prefer to remain neutral but we are not unaware of things happening outside Gringotts. The Weasley daughter had no choice in the betrothal."

"None at all."

"She is unwilling?" Griphook enquired delicately, his uneven pointed teeth bared in a smile.

"Very…but…"

"The Malfoys have much gold and goblin-made treasures in their vaults but we goblins do not approve of their treatment of non-humans. The Weasley daughter is noted to be powerful in her magics and would aid you in the task ahead?"

"Yes…but…"

"Then we may possibly be persuaded to help." Griphook sat back and waited for Harry to react.

"Help…how?" Harry was stunned. He hadn't expected this level of help from the goblins. They preferred to focus only on finance and guard their neutrality but they obviously knew far more than they were letting on. "I just want her to be safe," he mumbled. "That's all."

"Has she accepted the marriage?" the goblin asked.

"Of course she hasn't," Harry snapped. "I told you…"

"You misunderstand my meaning," Griphook returned. "Is there a written magical contract?"

Harry felt foolish but he was getting used to that. "Yes there is, and no she hasn't accepted anything. I wouldn't let her touch the parchment."

The goblin beamed his approval. "Well done, Mr. Potter. Some contracts do function that way."

"How do you know?" asked Harry.

"By looking at it." Griphook pushed another box across the desk. "This is for the Weasley daughter."

Stunned and not a little confused by the goblin's words, Harry opened the box and inside was a set of matching documents to the ones that Harry had. "Jennifer Weston," he murmured. "Jenny… it's close enough." He glanced across the table at Griphook. "No one else knows about this?"

"It's a logical guess that you may try to hide in the Muggle world and if we make it…others will, too."

"Then our time really is short." Harry was dismayed that they had so little time to play with. "I don't want to leave but I have to."

Griphook leaned forward. "What about He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?" he said.

"You really cannot repeat anything I've said to anyone else outside this room?" Harry asked.

"Yes," returned Griphook politely. "The wards forbid it."

"Not even to another goblin?" Harry caught Griphook's gaze and held it.

"Not even to the leader of the Goblin Council."

"Voldemort won't be a problem," Harry declared. "Not for a while. He's been temporarily removed from his own body again."

"I see." Griphook's shoulders relaxed.

Harry shrugged. "It's not been made public yet and I'm certain that state of affairs is only temporary. It should buy us some much needed time. It could be months or with any luck a couple of years."

"And you still want to go into hiding?"

"More than ever."

"The Weasley daughter."

"Is part of my reason why." Harry grabbed the blue folders and the two small boxes and placed it into his backpack. "I'll be in touch within the next couple of days."

"Don't leave it too long, Mr. Potter, or should I call you Mr. Peters?"

Harry managed a polite smile even though his stomach felt as if it was tying itself in knots. "Mr. Potter will do for now." He left the office and made his way through the bank until he reached a marble pillar. Slipping behind it, he grabbed his invisibility cloak and threw it over his head. If any of the Order caught him without an escort he was in big trouble.

He made his way through an almost empty Diagon Alley and headed out of the Leaky Cauldron into the streets beyond. A quick glance at his watch told him he still had a little time. The flat was close enough to visit.

"Rood Lane," Harry muttered, getting out his London A-Z and leafing through it until he found the right page. The location of the flat wasn't just close to the Leaky Cauldron; it was almost on top of it. He moved past a couple of fruit and vegetable stalls, someone selling papers and magazines, a small café and what appeared to be a chemist. Risking another headache, Harry cast a subtle glamour charm on himself. His eyes changed colour, his glasses changed shape and his hair flattened itself into a completely different style.

The street was narrow but the building housing his new home was on the corner near a junction. He opened the outer door and entered into a pleasant, modern lobby with a desk for a part-time concierge. He noted a set of stairs to his left and a lift to his right.

The flat, he discovered was on the top floor. It was small but perfectly adequate for his needs and as Griphook had stated, completely furnished. He decided that Ginny should have the larger of the two bedrooms. She deserved that much and more. Thankfully, Ginny wouldn't be too disappointed at not moving to the Malfoy's Manor. He just had to ensure that there was no danger of it ever happening. It had occurred to him, that if the Malfoys found out about Voldemort's temporary removal from power, Ginny would be dragged off and immediately married to Draco. If Harry divulged what had happened during the battle in Hogsmeade three weeks ago, he would be placing her in more danger, not less.

He had a quick look in the kitchen. It had all the usual Muggle appliances. Hopefully the goblins could have it fully stocked and ready for occupation by the end of the week.

Moving into the lounge area, he seated himself and placed his backpack on the low table in front of him. Opening the blue folder with the architect's drawings, he leafed through the designs on offer. The house in Scotland could one day be a family home. Harry forced his mind away from visions of a happy family life. Voldemort had now killed most of Harry's family and his Death Eater followers were interfering with the others.

He closed his eyes and tried to visualise the designs on the page as belonging to the three-sided ramshackle building represented in the photographs. Nothing was coming. He squeezed his eyelids tightly together and reached harder for a vision.

And then he saw it. The house nestled within the trees, framed by gently sloping heather clad hills was built of greyish stone with chestnut wood surrounding the lighted windows. Somewhere, he could hear water running and a woman's voice singing. It felt like home.

He opened his eyes again and picked up of the sheets of paper. "This one," he whispered. He placed it inside the blue folder and with a pop it suddenly vanished. Goblin magic was powerful indeed.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	11. Chapter 11

**The Unbreakable Vow 11**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

Harry returned to Grimmauld Place from his trip to secure some sort of hopeful future for himself and Ginny an hour later. The members of the Order of the Phoenix had already gathered for the meeting and he knew that his late arrival would be noted and commented upon. Head aching, Harry wandered into the library to find that everyone present stopped talking and just stared at him.

"Sorry I'm late," he said unapologetically.

"Harry," Remus Lupin walked forward and hugged him. "We were getting worried. You didn't tell us where you were going or ask for an escort."

"I just wanted to be by myself for a while," Harry mumbled, not looking anyone in the eye. There were too many people capable of Legilimency around the table and he wasn't sure how far his fairly recently acquired Occlumency skills would hold out or how his dwindling magic would affect him if he tried. "I had a wander round Diagon Alley…"

"Now, Harry," Dumbledore said genially, hiding his unease. The boy was too valuable to be risking his safety by wandering round Diagon Alley unescorted – especially now that he couldn't protect himself properly using magic. Of course, the boy didn't know that but... "I thought we'd discussed this…" he began.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment trying to hold onto his fraying temper. "No, as always you talked and I, as usual, listened," he said heavily. "I did hear what you said. I couldn't fail to," he griped bitterly. "But _we_ didn't discuss anything and _I_ certainly didn't agree. I was probably safer by myself than trailing several Aurors after me – no matter how discreet they were. I was in no danger and I didn't go and do anything foolish." At least, his inner voice reminded him, he hadn't done anything foolish yet. "Is there any law against buying toothpaste and other such necessities?" The bag emblazoned with the name of a Muggle chemist shop hung limply from one hand.

"I could have picked them up for you," Remus murmured.

Harry managed a weak smile. "I wanted to do it myself."

Severus Snape, at Order headquarters against his wishes, frowned. He would bet his entire stock of valuable unicorn hair that something _was_ wrong with the whelp and as usual, Potter wasn't talking to those that knew better. This wandering off by himself would only end in tears. He glanced towards Granger and Weasley but he could also see them looking at Harry with concern. The 'boy wonder' rubbed a grubby hand across his forehead.

"Headache, Harry!" asked Hermione, her face creasing in concern.

"Yeah," he said reluctantly. "But it'll be okay."

"You had one the day of Ginny's birthday party," Hermione persisted, her face creased with worry, "didn't you, Harry."

"I'm just tired," he said dismissively. "I'll take an aspirin."

"Come with me, Potter," ordered Snape, offended at the mention of an aspirin. "I have pain relieving potions stocked in the lab." His lip curled disdainfully. "You don't want to be messing around with Muggle remedies."

"They both utilise willow bark or once did, and they work," Harry retorted flippantly.

"Eventually," Snape allowed, surprised at the reference to willow bark. His headache potion did indeed contain willow bark. "But my pain-relieving potions work far more swiftly than Muggle remedies."

"An aspirin will save your precious potions for a more worthy recipient. You don't normally consider me to be worthy of your skills."

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione moaned. Why couldn't he stop trying to antagonise Professor Snape? But the comment had lacked the usual bite that marked Harry's typical exchanges with the Potions master.

"Is it…You-Know-Who?" asked Ron worriedly glancing at Harry.

Harry shook his head wearily and winced as his head throbbed in protest. "No, for some reason Voldemort's not bothering me at the moment." He made an attempt at a cheeky grin and missed it by miles as the assembled company, apart from Dumbledore, all reacted in some way to the Dark Lord's name. "Must have been something I said." That was completely true, he thought darkly. The Unforgivable Curse had certainly done the trick. He stomped on the feeling of guilt that threatened to swamp him at the sight of the worried faces around him. They would imprison him in the misguided hope that he would be safe. He'd had enough of his freedom being curtailed. He was an adult wizard and shouldn't be kept anywhere against his will. "No doubt, he'll be back," he muttered. "He doesn't seem to get the message that he's not wanted."

"Ron glanced at Hermione. "Harry…"

"Potter!" ordered Snape, losing patience with the inane chattering of the Boy-Who-Lived and his blathering sidekick, could see the tight edges of pain around Potter's mouth and in the darkening green of his eyes. "Today, if you please." And pointed the boy towards the door which led to the potions lab which Snape had set up in the basement. The door closed behind them with a dull thud.

"He says that it's not Voldemort causing the headache," Hermione said quietly, once the echo of their footsteps died away. "He would tell us if it were. Harry cannot lie. Well, he can, but he's no good at it."

Dumbledore's eyes had lost their twinkle and he looked old and tired. "Yes, he would tell us."

Remus Lupin's eyes followed the direction of Harry and Snape. "Would he tell us?" he asked worriedly. "Are you sure about that? He keeps far too much to himself, Dumbledore. He thinks that he's protecting us and he's only a boy."

"He's been different since the last Hogsmeade attack," muttered Ron. "Almost like he was after Sirius died in the Department of Mysteries – sort of sad. Mind you, I'm not surprised he's like that with You-Know-Who backing him into a shop window. It's enough to make anyone mental."

"I didn't realise that Voldemort got that close to Harry." Lupin's brow furrowed worriedly. "I couldn't see what happened as I was at the other end of the village trying to keep Fenrir Greyback from getting involved in the fighting." Greyback was the werewolf who'd bitten Remus as a child and retained a twisted desire for maiming and killing.

Dumbledore made a tiny abrupt movement with his hand. "Yes, I'm afraid he did get that close."

"It's the closest Harry's been to V…You-Know-Who since the fight at the Ministry. When Sirius…" Hermione's voice tailed off.

"What is it, Albus?" Minerva McGonagall asked quietly, she'd noticed, where the others hadn't, the headmaster's tiny giveaway gesture. She would ask him about it later. "I'm worried about Harry. This situation with Miss Weasley…"

"Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, interrupting. "He's said very little about poor Ginny's situation since it happened."

"To be fair, Hermione," Ron interrupted. "We've hardly seen him since Percy gave us the glad tidings. What could he say? I'm finding it difficult to talk about it and she's _my_ sister. He's either here at Grimmauld Place or at Hogwarts. He was supposed to be with us at The Burrow for the whole summer."

"Harry's presence at The Burrow is no longer possible because of the marriage contract," Dumbledore said patiently. "It's for his own good. Harry is not a relative of Miss Weasley and from now on must not be alone with her."

"That's very…Victorian," declared Hermione indignantly.

"Perhaps it is to you, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore. "But that is the way things are done in the wizarding world and attempting to change it now will not assist Miss Weasley. It will be difficult enough for her as it is, and we want to make her transition into her new life as smooth as possible."

Minerva McGonagall sniffed. "He's probably not said very much to you, Hermione, because he's been spending his time in research."

"Harry is?" said Hermione, her face showing disbelief. "That's not like Harry."

The Head of Gryffindor house frowned. "I know that you spent a vast amount of your school career supervising Mr. Potter's homework, Miss Granger. But do remember that he has an extremely good head on his shoulders when he wants to use it. He has indeed spent most of the last few days in the library at Hogwarts searching through books for anything that might free Miss Weasley from this most unwelcome alliance. I've racked my brains trying to think of something that might help them both and so far I cannot think of anything."

Hermione looked ashamed. Ginny was her only real female friend and she'd abandoned her to the Malfoys without a fight. "It's more than we've done," she admitted. "Even if it came to nothing, we should have helped him look. At least we could have tried."

"There is nothing to be done," said Dumbledore with a weary sigh. "I don't want to see Miss Weasley under the control of the Malfoy family any more than you do but she may be the making of Draco. Perhaps under her influence he will not pledge his allegiance to the same faction as his father has."

Ron snorted. "I think it's too late," he whispered loudly to Hermione.

Dumbledore shot him a quelling glance. "We can only hope that it's not, Mr. Weasley. Now if we could move on to other business."

Ron continued to shake his head. How could Dumbledore be so blind?

Lupin stared at the door to the basement and then glanced at Tonks. The Metamorphmagus had been uncharacteristically silent during the conversation. For all her youth and apparent clumsiness, Nymphadora Tonks was an intelligent woman and a shrewd judge of character. It would be interesting to see what she thought. Ginny Weasley was being handed without a protest to those that were more dangerous than he was fully transformed on a full moon. Added to that, something was definitely off with the cub. But if Harry hadn't talked to Ron and Hermione, it was either nothing or everything. There was no one else in the Order that the boy would tell. If it was important and Harry was endangered in some way, Ron and Hermione would tell Dumbledore. He would have to trust to that.

_**xxxxx**_

"Here, Potter." Snape thrust a vial containing a murky looking potion at the waiting boy.

"Thank you," Harry said, without looking at the Potions master.

Snape noted that Potter was avoiding his gaze as if he thought he might try to Legilimise him. It wasn't a bad idea, but he suspected that the brat had finally been practising his Occlumency – better late than never. He'd not shown any aptitude for the art of Occlumency when Snape had tutored him in the subject before, but he'd suspected that the boy had made minimal effort at the time. Snape conveniently ignored his own part in Potter's unwillingness to learn.

However, after the death of his godfather, Snape had noticed that Potter was a completely different animal. Circe, he'd hated and despised Sirius Black but he hadn't truly wished the man dead – not when so much was riding on the boy's shoulders. Black had genuinely cared for Harry Potter. It had taken the distraught boy a long time to return to his normal arrogance. Looking at the boy now, you would have thought that he'd lost Sirius yesterday instead of over two years ago. Was the loss of Weasley's sister affecting him that much?

"Something bothering you, Potter?" he drawled, watching as the boy flipped open the lid and tipped the contents of the bottle down his throat.

"Why ever would you think that?" Tired green eyes finally met the Potion master's dark ones.

"There is nothing you can do for her," Severus finally said, his voice unusually gentle. The barb he'd thought to utter dying on his lips. For once he almost sympathised with the boy. "We'll see that she's protected…even at Malfoy Manor."

Harry paused and handed Snape back the bottle. "If you can…which I doubt." There was a strained silence until Harry asked quietly, "Did you know what they were planning to do?"

Snape shook his greasy head slowly. "No. The Dark Lord hasn't called me quite as often of late and I have been unable to talk to Lucius or Draco Malfoy. I expect that the Dark Lord is becoming suspicious of my loyalty. I suppose this was inevitable as the Dark Lord trusts no one. I am surprised to have lasted this long as a spy. The Dark Lord has no real proof of my unfaithfulness…at least, I don't think he has…yet."

Harry nodded. "But you assume that he will have soon."

Snape screwed the lid tightly on a jar of black beetles' eyes. "Yes. Eventually I will make a mistake and I will be called upon it. I am only human."

Harry took a deep breath and suddenly asked, "Is Percy Weasley a…"

"Death Eater?" Snape gave a short bark of derision. "No. His only loyalty is to Fudge and the Ministry and his driving force is ambition. If there was a mark to indicate that, then he would have it. It's a dangerous combination. Power corrupts even the best of men."

Harry nodded, flooded with relief. Molly would never have to discover that her son had the dark mark tattooed to his left arm. It would have destroyed her.

"I would know, Potter."

"Thank you." It must have been the first time ever that he'd had what amounted to a civil conversation with Snape.

The man's eyes narrowed. "Whatever you're hiding, whatever you're up to, Potter. I suggest you drop all the foolish notions that have entered your empty head and listen to the adults."

"Yeah," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. So much for their short-lived civility. "Sure, why not? They've given me such good advice so far." Part of him hadn't really believed Madam Pomfrey about the curse damage at first but it was proving to be the case every time he cast a spell. The mild glamour he'd used had lasted less than twenty minutes and afterwards his head had pounded just as badly as during a visit from Voldemort once had. He moved his head gingerly from side to side glad that the pain had gone. "Thanks," he muttered. "That feels better."

Snape's dark eyes glittered in the dim light. "So you admit that you're up to something."

"I'm not admitting anything." Harry opened the door. "What could I possibly be up to? Wherever I go, someone from the Order accompanies me. I can still go to the bathroom by myself but I'm expecting any day for that privilege to be rescinded."

"Potter…"

"And don't bother mentioning how like my father I am. I've heard it all before and it's becoming rather repetitive. As I said already, thank you for the potion, Professor Snape. Take care of yourself and be cautious in your dealings with Tom. You should be fine for a bit longer…I would think."

The door banged behind him and Severus heard the boy's feet clattering angrily up the stairs. '_Tom?'_ he thought and then it clicked. _'Tom'_. Only Potter…or Albus would refer to the Dark Lord in so casual a fashion.

He turned to the cauldron simmering behind him and adjusted the heat. It wouldn't do to have Lupin's next flagon of Wolfsbane ruined because he was distracted by Potter's stranger than usual behaviour. He decided to mention his concerns to Dumbledore when they returned to Hogwarts. It was the first conversation they'd had in years that was almost civil. Yes, the boy was planning something. For a Gryffindor, Potter exhibited many Slytherin traits. His gaze fell on one of the books open on the table - antidotes. It wouldn't harm him to brew some of the antidotes to the more virulent of poisons. Miss Weasley may have need of them one day. He almost felt sorry for her. It was a total waste of a very bright witch even if she was a Gryffindor and a close friend of Potter's.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 12**

The meeting of the Order of the Phoenix ran true to form with very little being decided upon. No one had heard anything of Voldemort and his activities since the battle in Hogsmeade four weeks earlier. There had been one or two stray Death Eater attacks on Muggleborns in under-populated areas but nothing more.

"They're planning something big," Moody noted, his magic eye spinning wildly. "It's the only reason that they've been so quiet. Have you heard anything, Severus?"

Snape shook his greasy black head, a frown creasing his forehead. He had to admit to himself that he was concerned. "No. I've not been called since the Hogsmeade debacle."

Remus sat up straight in his chair. "We lost a couple of good people in that 'debacle', Severus," he snapped.

"If you'd kept your wits about you, Werewolf, you wouldn't have," Snape retorted, his lip curling.

"Now listen here!"

"Gentlemen!" Dumbledore stopped the argument before it began. "Please." He turned to look at the former Auror. "Alastor?"

"Keep us informed, Severus. If you hear anything, no matter how unimportant it seems," the grizzled man ordered.

"I have been spying for some time, Moody," Snape sneered. "I'm not a fool."

Moody's magical-eye spun wildly for a moment before he gave a snort. "No, your foolishness is long past."

"Quite," said Snape.

"Constant Vigilance," Moody muttered, shooting a dark look at the hook-nosed man. "Constant vigilance."

Harry frowned. The big knot of guilt in the middle of his chest returned. He knew he was wrong to keep such momentous news to himself but he'd used an Unforgivable - even if it was on Voldemort. Would they send him to Azkaban? How would he survive there without his magic? Who would help Ginny? He again looked around the table at the tired faces and then his gaze connected with Dumbledore. He would tell him…soon. It was the right thing to do. He opened his mouth to blurt out the truth and then closed it again. He didn't know what to say and perhaps right this minute wasn't the best time to say it. But he wasn't mistaken, Voldemort had gone.

For the moment, at least even if it wasn't forever.

"Harry?" the headmaster said quietly. "You have something to say?"

"No, not really," he mumbled, ducking his head to avoid the headmaster's gaze. "I just wondered if you had anything else to add, Professor."

"No. I wish that I had good news. Merlin knows that we could all do with some." Dumbledore had little to give to Harry, Ron and Hermione on the current search for the Horcruxes but he'd quietly passed Hermione some extremely rare books, on that subject and others, from his own library. The search for the Horcruxes was solely between Dumbledore and Harry but the headmaster knew that it was inevitable that Harry would inform Ron and Hermione of what exactly they were looking for. None of the other Order members had been informed.

"Dobby has dinner ready in the kitchen," Harry said quietly, once the meeting was officially closed.

"Thank you, Harry," Dumbledore said. "We'll be down directly. Severus, if I could have a word?"

Snape's steady regard fell on Harry, before glancing at Dumbledore. "Certainly, Headmaster."

Harry shrugged. Something else he wasn't old enough or capable enough to be trusted with. "Come on, he said, pushing open the library door. "You know how excited Dobby can get when he has company."

Some of the witches and wizards immediately left for their other lives but the Order members still remaining in Grimmauld place trooped wearily down to the kitchen. Just as they did so, there was a whoosh of green flame and Fred, George and Ginny tumbled out of the fireplace.

Harry smiled for the first time since he had stepped back into Grimmauld Place, relief lighting up his face. "You got my message then, Fred."

"Dinner at eight- thirty," said Fred.

"I'm just going to put my stuff in my room before we eat," Harry said, holding up the chemist's bag and moved away from the group. "I'll only be a minute." No one saw him slip a small bag to Ginny as he brushed past her or saw the redhead immediately shrink it down and stuff into the pocket of her blue jeans. In it was a small purse containing some Muggle currency, a map, a brass key and a bottle of brown hair dye. "Ginny," he whispered. "Carry this with you at all times. Just in case."

Ginny gave a brief nod. The decision when to go was up to her but there was no turning back where she was concerned now. They had a plan.

By the time Harry returned to the kitchen, Dumbledore had joined them, seated at the end of the long scrubbed wooden table.

"Ah, Miss Weasley," the headmaster said as he dug into one of the many pockets in his purple robes and produced the marriage parchment. "This belongs to you. I had Professor Flitwick test it but unfortunately…"

Ginny, her face impassive, turned her head and glanced at Harry. He gave a miniscule shake of his head. "I don't want it," she announced. "Give it to Hermione or Ron or to the twins. In fact tear it up and throw it in the fire."

"There will be copies, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said gently, "…as well as a protective charm. The fire will merely spit the parchment back out."

"Copies?" repeated Hermione.

"Magically created at the same time. The groom's family will have one very similar to yours. You have to accept the inevitable."

"I will not accept anything of the sort. Not until Draco Malfoy and I are side by side in the marriage bed and not even then," she spat vehemently. "It will never be a true marriage in my eyes."

Dumbledore looked at the grin on Harry's face. He was going to have to speak to the boy again. It was a magical contract not a piece of Muggle paper. As soon as Ginny Weasley had touched the scroll, the magical spell was complete and she was officially bound to Malfoy forever. He didn't consider that there could be older more potent forms of magic at work here or that Ginny hadn't yet laid so much as a finger on the parchment. "You shouldn't be encouraging her, Harry," he said regretfully.

"I don't need to encourage her, Professor," Harry said proudly. "She's quite capable of keeping this up all by herself. It's Gryffindor stubbornness, I think."

Ginny tilted her chin, her normally bright gaze flat and cold. "This has nothing to do with Harry, Professor Dumbledore. I dislike being used as a pawn to further everyone's schemes. My life and my choice have been removed from me against my will. The Malfoys _will_ regret binding me. I will make sure of it."

The silver writing on the parchment gleamed faintly in the firelight. "Miss Weasley…" Ginny turned away. Dumbledore sighed and rolled it up again and handed it to Hermione, who put it in the pocket of her robe.

Harry resisted the temptation to do what Griphook had told him to do and look at the parchment. There wasn't anything different about it from what he could see. He glanced at the witch by his side and noted her unhappy scowl. "What is it?" he asked her gently, his sixth sense where she was concerned flaring into sudden life. She was justifiably angry about the betrothal but something else must have happened. He knew his Ginny.

"She's unhappy because Percy owled her to say that Aurors would be coming to collect her tomorrow at noon," Hermione explained sadly.

"What!" the smile vanished from Harry's face and a hint of panic entered his voice. "But she has a month…or at least three weeks before…"

"No, no, it's not the wedding." Hermione gave Ginny a wary glance as if she thought the redhead might do something extreme at any moment. "She's been ordered to meet Narcissa Malfoy tomorrow to pick out her wedding robes."

"It should be my mother that helps me," Ginny snapped bitterly. "Not that…snotty…excuse of a Death Eater wife. But my mother's in St Mungo's because of Death Eaters like Lucius Malfoy and I've been sold to the very people we're fighting against." She glanced at Tonks. "I'm sorry," she muttered as she remembered something. "I forgot that she's your aunt."

Tonks shrugged unconcernedly. "You can call Narcissa Malfoy anything you like, dearie. I'm a half-blood and because of that she's never acknowledged me. The Blacks cut off all contact when she married my father."

Hermione motioned Harry aside and whispered. "Narcissa Malfoy contacted Ginny by floo and stated that she be dressed like the Malfoy bride should be and not some Weasley blood traitor as they were going to be purchasing her wedding robes. The Malfoy family were an old and highly respected pure-blood line and she wasn't going to see her reputation tarnished. Her daughter-in-law would not be married in second-hand robes."

Harry's eyes widened. "Oh, no!" Ginny was a fiery, intelligent and independent witch and wouldn't take kindly to the slurs being cast on her and her family. The Weasleys had never had much money but in Harry's eyes had always possessed something far more valuable – their love for each other. "Ginny refused, I take it?"

Ron nodded, his face red. "I didn't know she was capable of such language," he admitted a little indignantly. "She's definitely been hanging around with the wrong people."

"That would be us, you dimwit," muttered Hermione.

"Oh, well yeah," Ron looked sheepish. "Anyway, it was only a matter of time before an owl came from Percy. He didn't risk another home visit. The Aurors will pick Ginny up for some compulsory shopping. I thought you women…" he gestured to Hermione, "liked shopping."

"Ronald!" Hermione said. The exasperation in her face and voice was clear. Ron was one of her best friends – almost closer than a friend really but he still possessed the emotional range of a teaspoon.

Ron shrugged and glanced at Harry, who had closed his eyes at his friend's words. "You okay, mate?"

"Me?" Harry looked startled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Snape's potion worked wonders. Come on, help yourselves to something to eat. Dobby may be a free elf but he still worked hard to prepare supper and I'll have to spend the rest of the evening trying to stop him punishing himself because we didn't eat the food."

"Harry," Hermione chided reproachfully.

"Eat," he said, sitting down between Remus and Ginny. "Dobby did this because he wanted to and I'm paying him. He has a choice, Hermione."

"We should try and make a Marauder's style map of Malfoy Manor for you, Gin," Ron said suddenly.

Ginny's mouth dropped open as she processed the words her brother had just said. "What!" she breathed, her fork clattering onto her plate, the sound ringing around the suddenly quiet kitchen. "What did you just say?"

"You could help, Remus," Ron said, blithely unaware of the anger on the faces of those around him.

"Do you, in your idiotic pea-brained fashion, really think that Lucius Malfoy is just going to let Ginny wander around Malfoy Manor clutching a map?" derided Fred. "Oh, come on. Here's the layout to the building, Ginevra. Why don't you snoop around and see if you can find any charmed dark artefacts and spy for the Order of the Phoenix.'"

Ron flushed. "It's an idea."

"I think Ron may have a point," murmured Hermione. "Although I don't think that snooping around Malfoy Manor would be wise even as a member of the family. Surely the Ministry would have plans of the place. They certainly tried to raid it on a number of occasions. I remember your father talking about it and it was also reported in the _Daily Prophet._"

"Magical buildings can change," said Lupin with a deep sigh. "And Malfoy Manor is certainly that. Not on the scale of Hogwarts, of course but…"

"Tonks…" murmured Ron carefully. "You're related to them."

"Not by choice," the young Auror said darkly. "Mother married a Muggle, remember. I told you that the Malfoys and the Lestranges have never acknowledged that I existed. We were burned off the family tapestry and I'm glad of it. How my mother is related to those harpies I will never understand. My mum always says the best day of her life was the one where she met my father."

"Severus?" Lupin asked.

The Potions master stopped eating and glared at the assembled company. "This is a foolish suggestion. I have been a guest at Malfoy Manor many times but there are rooms even I have not been invited into. They do, however, have a well stocked potions lab. Narcissa was quite good at potions when she was at Hogwarts. Her son has inherited her talent."

"Malfoy Manor has a potions lab?" asked Hermione.

"And an extensive library," Snape said silkily. "Several definitive works on the Dark Arts are stored there. They are the only copies of these texts in existence and are extremely valuable. Security at the Manor is extremely…tight."

Ginny looked more disgruntled than ever. "I can hardly wait," she muttered. "It's not as if my new husband's family will let me sit my NEWTs."

"They may surprise you. I will speak to Draco on your behalf. You can sit them at the Ministry after your marriage," Snape murmured, glancing from the corner of his eyes at Harry. The boy's hands had tightened angrily around the glass he was clutching. So the mention of Ginny Weasley in conjunction with Draco Malfoy finally dragged a reaction from the, up until now, rather blank-faced Potter.

"Don't bother, Professor. I doubt anything will make any difference." Ginny looked at Hermione spitefully. "A whole fully stocked library?"

"A remarkable collection of books," stated Snape.

"I can imagine," muttered Ginny, but there was no joy in her voice.

Hermione's lips tightened but she refused to be baited further and took her empty plate to the sink. She knew Ginny was dying to let go her frustrated anger at someone and she refused to let it be directed at her.

"Talking of libraries," Harry said, standing up and taking a last swig at his pumpkin juice. "We need to do an hour's research upstairs before you lot return to The Burrow. Many minds and all that."

"Albus, I am returning to the school," Snape declared. "I have remedies to brew for Poppy."

Dumbledore nodded. "I will accompany you. I'm expecting a call from Rufus Scrimgeour." He turned to look at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Remember what I said, Harry. No more wandering around on your own. It is dangerous for you to do so."

Harry's mouth flattened into a thin line of displeasure. "You shut me up in Privet Drive every summer, Professor," Harry said coldly. "I refuse to be imprisoned in Grimmauld Place the way that Sirius was. He couldn't take it either." That was what was going to happen, Harry knew it. Dumbledore was aware that he couldn't use his magic to defend himself properly any more and was determined to protect him by locking him up and not telling him why.

"Harry…" Dumbledore said, suddenly looking tired and very, very old.

"If you're coming, Headmaster," murmured Snape. "If the brat wants to risk the safety of more people…" The look in his black eyes was malicious.

"Severus…" Dumbledore pressed his fingers against his temple. He'd hoped that Harry and Severus would one day find peace but it didn't seem to be possible. Perhaps things had gone too far. "This is not the time or the place for such comments. Please do as I ask, Harry. I will speak to you in a couple of days." He turned and followed the Potions professor into the fire. There was a flash of green fire and both figures disappeared.

Lupin glanced first at Harry and then at Tonks. "I have to meet Dung," he murmured. Dung was Mundungus Fletcher, a wizard with a rather dubious reputation. "He was on duty at…" He glanced warily at Harry again.

"Privet Drive?" asked Tonks.

"Yes. I have to fill him in on tonight's meeting and then take his place for a few hours. You know Dumbledore doesn't trust him to keep watch for any length of time."

"With good reason. I know he has useful contacts in the wizarding underworld but sometimes he's more of a liability than a help. The consignment of dodgy cauldrons he wanted to store here just emphasized that fact," the young Auror complained. "I'll come with you. My normal shift starts in an hour so I have to report to the Ministry first." She glanced at the group of teens before her. "I'll see you lot later."

"Sure," said Harry, ignoring the mention of Privet Drive. If Dumbledore had had his way, Harry would still be shut up there with his magic hating relatives. But part of him was glad that they were still being protected. They'd never wanted Harry there in the first place and despite everything they had given him a home of sorts.

Lupin stepped forward and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, please no more wandering off without letting someone know where you are. We're just concerned for your safety."

Harry stared up into the werewolf's tired amber eyes. "I'm not going anywhere tonight," he said softly. "But they can't control me forever and you know it."

Lupin's hand tightened and then, as he withdrew it, he nodded, recognising he'd get no further with Harry. "If you're ready?" He smiled at Tonks and the pair vanished from sight with a faint pop.

Harry glanced at Ginny and then at the others. "Library," he said.

Fred and George came up behind him and clapped him on the back. "Fancy doing a bit of research for us?"

Harry chuckled. "What is it this time?"

"We're extending our Skiving Snackboxes range. The Nosebleed Nougat and Fainting Fancies have been most profitable…especially during term time."

"Cool," said Ron.

"So Metamorph Munchies it is," crowed George.

"And Laryngitis Liquorice," chortled Fred.

"Laryngitis Liquorice!" Hermione echoed. "They are safe?" she queried, with a disapproving frown.

Fred waved his hands in the air. "Almost. Lose your voice without the pain of a sore throat."

"Why would I want to lose my voice?" asked Hermione.

"Other people may want you to lose it," stated Fred, with a cheeky wink.

"That's not very nice," Hermione muttered indignantly. "That's the last time I look up a charm to help you two. If I'd realised what it was for…"

"And most helpful it was, too. We can test and look for new hexes at the same time," added George swiftly. "It'll be fun."

"I'll reserve judgement on that," muttered Hermione.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

He heard the sound of increased flames in the hearth which could only mean that he had a caller but he chose not to acknowledge him until he was ready. It gave him a sense of power and therefore the upper hand.

"Severus!"

"Lucius!" The Hogwarts' Potions master lifted his head from the text he was studying to gaze at the head in his fireplace. Finally he might learn something of use to the Order. He placed the quill deliberately slowly upon the parchment on his desk. "I haven't heard from you for some time but of course, I realise that you must have been far too busy planning Draco's wedding to call," he said sneeringly. "What possessed you to affiance him to the Weasley chit?"

Lucius Malfoy's smile didn't reach his cold grey eyes. "She's a pretty witch and my son likes the look of her."

"Rubbish," Snape dismissed. "She may be a pretty witch but Draco cannot abide Miss Weasley or any of the rest of her ginger brethren and their Muggle loving friends. What is the real reason?"

"Insurance," Lucius snapped coldly.

"What kind of insurance?" Snape's black eyes narrowed. The Malfoys didn't normally go seeking insurance in the form of a blood-traitorous Weasley bride. Why would one of the richest and most powerful wizards in the entire country need that kind of insurance? So, he thought with mild astonishment, Lucius was worried about something. The flaxen-haired aristocrat would never say it aloud and unless you knew the blond wizard very well indeed, you would never guess at the turmoil which could seethe below the polished surface. Lucius was a master at hiding his emotions and also a decent Occlumens. He would not have survived in the service of the Dark Lord for so long if he was not.

"Something's wrong, Severus."

"Yes, you've got Draco engaged to the Weasley girl. Neither of them wants such a match. She's Potter's friend," he drawled, managing to keep his countenance from showing nothing more than slight irritation. "What demon possessed you?"

"She's a pure-blood, Severus and a useful levering tool…if things go wrong politically."

Years of spying had inured Snape to shocks of most kinds but this – he could only call it fear – in the voice of Lucius Malfoy, was new. Lucius was actually suggesting to another wizard, all-be-it a fellow Death Eater, that he suspected the Dark Lord was not as all-powerful as was claimed. This was tantamount to admitting the carrying out of a treasonous act and was certainly punishable by several rounds of Crucio finished off by an Avada Kedavra.

"Lucius…"

Malfoy's eyes lit with manic fervour. "We can use her to spy on Potter and his…"

"Lucius…" Snape interrupted. "Don't you think that Potter and his friends will have already thought of that?"

"There are ways…" Lucius said darkly.

"You'd better come through," Snape said wearily, interrupting the other wizard's words for the second time.

Lucius scowled. "I cannot. Narcissa is entertaining her sister this evening and I should not be absent from their company for too long." His sister-in-law was not his favourite witch. The beautiful Bellatrix Black Lestrange been captured and sent to Azkaban when the Dark Lord had fallen seventeen years ago. Bellatrix had, throughout her imprisonment, remained dedicated and totally loyal to Voldemort's cause and had immediately rejoined his side when she had escaped. Although Lucius and Bellatrix espoused the same cause, neither wanted to be in the shadow of the other. Bellatrix had sworn to serve the Dark Lord, as had Lucius, but the Malfoy patriarch thought of his own welfare first and always would.

"What does Bella think?" asked Snape carefully. "Has she spoken to the Dark Lord? She continues to hold his favour, insane though she is."

Lucius did not disagree with Snape's opinion of Bella's state of mind. His sister-in-law was at best deranged and at her worst - psychotic. "She has not seen or heard from him for over three weeks and is beginning to worry. No one has seen him. He's taken this latest setback very badly…"

"No one has seen him?" Severus froze, ice suddenly running through his veins. "No one at all? Bella hasn't and you haven't?"

"You haven't either?" Lucius drawled. "Of course you haven't. You are merely the Dark Lord's Potion maker not his confidante." They stared at one another in disbelief, the implications too great to comprehend. They hadn't seen or heard from the Dark Lord since the battle at Hogsmeade just under a month ago. Potter had survived again and they had assumed that Voldemort had retreated to rethink his tactics.

Suppose Potter had done more than survive another attempt on his life. Suppose… "You'd better snap that Weasley girl up very quickly," Snape sneered suddenly. "If what neither of us has dared to utter tonight is true, then she could be your only insurance against a lifetime in Azkaban. An Imperius curse is difficult to pull off twice. Many wizards didn't believe you the last time."

"At least my loyalty has never been doubted."

"No, the Dark Lord knows that you are truly on one side only - your own," Snape returned evenly. Lucius could bait him all he liked to no effect. He'd only stated the truth. All the slurs hadn't been forgotten but would be remembered when it was time to settle the score.

"My son will be wedded to the Weasley girl tomorrow, if that is what is needed to keep us all safe."

"What about the match with Pansy Parkinson? Draco won't…"

"He will if he still wants to be a Malfoy. The Parkinson alliance has been dissolved."

"I don't think it's the correct action, Lucius…" Snape declared. "Draco…"

"Is a Malfoy and will do what he has to and he was quite content to give up the Parkinson match. The marriage can be dissolved if necessary," he sneered coldly.

"Why have Draco marry her at all if she is so unsuitable?" Ginny Weasley would be considered expendable, Snape thought.

"She is eminently suitable." Lucius glanced behind him as if hearing voices. "I have to go, Severus."

"Of course. Do give Bella my regards, Lucius. But I never thought you would let her tell you what to do." Lucius glared at the Potions professor with something akin to real hatred and vanished.

Alone, Severus Snape released a shaky breath and carefully rolled up the fabric of his left shirt sleeve. The mark was still there but with a faint sense of surprise, Snape thought that it was fainter as if had begun to fade – the same way that it had faded seventeen years ago when the killing curse on Harry Potter had rebounded on its caster.

There was only one real explanation. Potter had done it again. He'd somehow managed to vanquish the Dark Lord and drive him from his body into a non-corporeal form during the attack on Hogsmeade. This placed Severus Snape into an even more difficult position than the one he currently occupied for reasons that he'd not yet told the headmaster.

"What have you done, Potter," Snape breathed. "And why haven't you said anything to anyone?"

It was possible that the boy himself did not know that Voldemort had gone but something told Snape, that Potter was quite aware of the Dark Lord's disappearance. The Potions Master was convinced that no one had been told of this. The Dark Lord had occasionally gone for as long as a week without calling his loyal Death Eaters to his side but never longer than that. Voldemort craved the attention and the power he received lording it over his minions. Fudge, Scrimgeour and the Daily Prophet were not shouting Voldemort's defeat to the wizarding public. It meant that no one knew.

No one apart from Harry Potter and the brat wasn't talking to anyone in the Order.

Snape needed to speak to Dumbledore immediately. The Headmaster would already know of Malfoy's visit and would be expecting a report. Feeling as if he'd aged a hundred years in a matter of minutes, Snape grabbed some internal floo powder from the pot on the mantelpiece and disappeared from his office in a puff of green smoke.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 13**

Ginny had not, as her brother Percy expected, gone out of her way to thwart the Aurors and Narcissa Malfoy. What his sister did was completely different from what he would have predicted. But then, as Ginny would have said, Percy didn't know his family as well as he thought. She had decided to play along – for now. Ginny had raided her mother's wardrobe and found the dress that Molly had worn when she'd been bound to Arthur. In Ginny's eyes there was something right about wearing it.

The dress was a traditional witch's dress in a Victorian style of rich blue velvet with matching robes. After more than twenty years of marriage and the birthing seven children, it hadn't fitted Molly in a long time but on Ginny, it was almost perfect. The dress hugged Ginny's tiny waist and flared out over her hips to the floor.

"You look beautiful, Ginny," said Hermione hugging the stiff little figure. "I don't think I could be as brave."

"Of course you could," said Ginny, her lips trembling as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. "You're a Gryffindor, too. I'm only being measured for my wedding robes, not undergoing the actual ceremony…yet. I still have three weeks to prepare myself. We may be blood-traitors in Malfoy eyes but we're powerful and true. We have standards she could never reach. I think she expects me to turn up in rags or my Hogwarts school robes. However today, Narcissa will meet the perfect pure-blooded witch."

"Spoken like a true Weasley. Ginny…"

"No, Hermione. Concentrate on what you do best. Keep researching for Harry and being the friend he needs. I'm going to rely on you and Ron to look after him for me. He'll blame himself for this – you know that he will. He always seems to think that everything is his fault and its not. I did love him, you know that I did but now…" she sighed, her expression tragic. "Now, I'll never be able to be the girl of his dreams. I still hoped…"

The bushy-haired witch nodded unable to speak. This was worse somehow than the day of the betrothal notice. She looked at the parchment which lay on the mantelpiece. Even it seemed to be dull today, the colours weren't sparkling in the way that they had been. She watched Ginny pull back her bright hair and arrange it in a chignon. Suddenly, she wasn't the little girl that had followed them around The Burrow every holiday, but a young adult witch.

"I'm ready," she said. "Did you know, Hermione that this was my mother's wedding dress?"

Hermione wondered what Harry's reaction would be if he saw Ginny like this. Yes, the pair had mutually decided to dissolve their romance and remain as friends but from what the bookish witch had seen over the past few days, the romance wasn't as dead as it should be. Ginny had just admitted to still loving Harry and she was certain that Harry felt just as strongly for Ginny. "I didn't know that. It's beautiful. _You're_ beautiful."

"But probably not good enough for the Malfoys," Ginny said bitterly.

"You are better than they are," soothed Hermione. She didn't know what else to say. There was nothing that could make this situation any better.

There was a sudden scuffle behind them and Nymphadora Tonks, Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, came flying through the fireplace, landing in a heap on the hearthrug.

"Sorry about that," she apologised, getting to her feet and patting her hair, which changed immediately from blue to pink.

Ginny stared up at the Weasley family clock and noted for the first time in months, apart from her own, that the hands were not all pointed at Mortal Peril. Had anyone else noticed the change? "You're early," she said.

"I had to warn you…" Tonks glanced at the fireplace which was still empty. "Something's wrong…or very right. Depends on what side you believe in. There are rumours going around the Ministry today that Voldemort's been…"

"Been what?" Ginny asked sharply.

"Destroyed," whispered Tonks, her hair suddenly reverting to a dull brown colour. "I can hardly believe it."

Hermione gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. "Destroyed?"

"What!" exclaimed Ginny, belatedly remembering that she shouldn't know this information and changing her nodding head to a shaking one. "No!" she breathed. What Tonks had said was hardly a surprise to Ginny as Harry had already told her this. Still, the Metamorphmagus didn't know that Harry had told her anything at all.

"Did Harry…does Harry?" stuttered Hermione. They hadn't destroyed all the Horcruxes. Harry was still searching. Voldemort couldn't have been vanquished. They would have known.

"It's only a rumour," muttered Tonks, her hair shifting between colours until it settled on a muted purple. "So it's unlikely that Harry will know anything yet. I heard it from Mad-Eye late last night."

"Does that mean I don't need to marry Malfoy?" Ginny asked desperately.

"Oh, Ginny, I'm sorry." Tonks shook her head regretfully. "I hate to say this but I can't let you get your hopes up. Quite the reverse, I suspect. I saw Malfoy senior in the Ministry today speaking to the registrar of births, deaths and marriages. My instinct says that they will try to get the marriage moved forward. But don't tell anyone else yet…" She gave Hermione a warning glare. "Including Ron and Harry, that this might happen. Keep your wits about you."

"But we must tell them," Hermione protested.

"Why?" asked the young Auror. "What could they do?"

"But Ginny's Ron's sister and Harry's…" She froze. There was nothing they could do. It was, as she kept telling Ginny and Harry, a magical contract.

"Exactly. Harry is…" Tonks had seen the way Harry's eyes had followed Ginny and vice versa. She had watched the two young people for longer than Hermione had. The story of just being friends was exactly that – a story. Even if they were unaware of that fact.

"We have to tell them," Hermione insisted. "Harry has to know. He's been under so much pressure lately and…" she looked down at her hands. "He's her friend."

Tonks gave a heavy sigh. So Hermione had her suspicions about the young wizard's feelings for the pretty redhead, too. "I suppose we must." Tonks lifted her head and glanced around the room. "Where are the boys?"

"Ron's gone to Grimmauld Place to spend the morning with Harry," Hermione admitted. "I think they're meeting Moody. He was going to show them some more Auror defence tricks. The boys are obsessed with learning these defensive spells."

"If its Moody that's training them, then it won't be tricks. It could keep them alive," Tonks said firmly. "I think Harry's gone way beyond mere tricks in Defence now. I've never seen anyone master defensive spells the way he can."

Hermione nodded. "He was always the best in that subject in our class."

"Rankled, did it?" asked Tonks with a grin. "I heard you were top in most of the other classes. Did you hear from Charlie?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, he's coming home as soon as he can and is threatening all kind of hexes on Percy, but we've heard nothing from Bill and Fleur. I hope they're okay."

Tonks placed a reassuring hand on Ginny's shoulder. "I think they are okay but I haven't been told where they've been sent or what exactly they're doing. It's Order business."

"Credit me with some intelligence," Ginny said wearily. "I knew that much. I'd hoped that Bill's skill as a curse-breaker could rid me of my particular curse. I should have realised that it just wasn't going to happen. If he'd been here, Percy wouldn't have dared to sell me to the Malfoy's."

"He didn't…" Tonks closed her mouth with something of a snap. Percy Weasley had done exactly that. He'd sold his sister to the Malfoys. She didn't know what the price was but she could guess. Percy was ambitious but penniless and the Malfoys could certainly promote his career aspirations.

A rumble in the fireplace alerted them to the sound of another incoming floo traveller and Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped gracefully onto the hearthrug, brushing some soot from his robes.

"Why can't I ever arrive like that," moaned Tonks.

"Did you warn her?" the dark-skinned Auror asked urgently.

"Yes, she did," Ginny said. "But what good is a warning going to do? As you've already pointed out, Tonks. It's not going to change anything."

Kingsley sighed. "It will at least prepare you for…" he held out his hands helplessly.

"Marriage to Malfoy sooner than expected and still against my will." Ginny tilted her head enquiringly to one side. "Can they move the wedding forward?"

"Oh yes," Kingsley muttered. "It's very easy to do what you want when your family has poured thousands of galleons into the Ministry's coffers. Fudge may no longer be Minister and I know Scrimgeour has no love for Lucius but wealth and blood still tells."

"Draco wants to marry me as much as I want to marry him. Which should tell you everything about our damned union." Ginny picked up her cloak. "Are you my assigned escorts for the day?"

Tonks shook her head. "Kingsley is but I'm not. Percy thinks that I'm too close to Dumbledore and Harry."

"He'd be right," said Hermione, with a faint smile.

"I'm glad I was able to get to know Harry Potter, Hermione." Tonks sighed as she glanced at her watch. "We're waiting for Auror Dawlish – he's a stickler for the rules. We deliberately gave him the wrong time so that we could speak to you first. He's not going to be happy that he's late."

"Hermione…Harry's not said anything to you about You-Know-Who?" asked Kingsley quietly.

"Only that V…V…Voldemort wasn't speaking to him. Anything Harry sees is through the link of his scar. Remember Tonks, last night when he had the headache? He said that You-Know-Who wasn't speaking…"

"So he did, Hermione," Tonks said thoughtfully.

"V…V…Voldemort used to cause his headaches but doesn't exactly speak to him," Hermione murmured. "But Harry can tell if he's happy or angry. If Voldemort's emotions are strong, Harry can feel them."

"Could Harry tell if V…You-Know-Who is alive?" Tonks wondered aloud.

"For that answer you would have to ask Harry himself," said Hermione. "Because I cannot tell you – I don't know. I would have thought that if he knew, he would have told me and Ron. He usually tells us most things, although he's not been so forthcoming lately. Not since Sirius died really."

Ginny inspected the hem of her cloak, her shabby booted feet just visible. "And I still have to Marry Malfoy." She looked very young. "I want to visit my mother," she announced suddenly. "And I want to do it now."

Hermione shook her head. "But Ginny…"

"Kingsley will take me," she looked pleadingly at the dark-skinned Auror. "He'll take me to St. Mungos and then will deliver me to Narcissa. If I'm to be married off to Draco Malfoy in less time than expected, I want to see my mother first. She does know about the betrothal and if I'm to be married sooner than I was told... "

"You informed her!" Kingsley exclaimed.

"Of course," said Ginny. "I had to tell her. Yes, she's been unwell and perhaps three months ago, we wouldn't have said anything but she's much improved and not telling her wasn't something that I could have on my conscience. She's my mother and I love her. I want to see her and that's what I'm going to do. I _need_ to see her."

The others looked helplessly at one another. She had a point. She was a seventeen year old witch in a situation not of her choosing and she wanted her mother. It was a simple decision to make.

Kingsley glanced at Tonks and gave a brief nod of assent. "Okay, I'll take you to St. Mungos."

"I'll stay behind and tell Dawlish," said Hermione with a sigh. She did understand Ginny's need to speak to Molly. "Go on – quickly now. It's nearly noon."

"Thanks, Hermione." Ginny threw her arms around the other girl and hugged her tightly.

"We'll apparate," decided Tonks, moving closer to Ginny. "It's safer."

Kingsley stepped closer to the two witches and with a crack the three vanished just as a blaze of green in the fireplace announced the arrival of Auror Dawlish.

"Miss Weasley?"

"Oh!" said Hermione, her eyes wide. "You just missed them. I'm Miss Granger."

Dawlish checked his watch. "I know who you are," he said brusquely. "Where exactly did they go?"

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies**

The fourth floor patient's day room was empty apart from the lone figure of a woman sitting in a large wing backed chair, staring into space, knitting needles lying abandoned on her knees.

"Mum!"

"Ginny! Why are you…?" Molly Weasley sat up straighter in her chair all her attention focused on the figure in blue velvet as it rushed towards her. The knitting fell to the floor and a ball of maroon wool rolled lazily away.

"I didn't know that they'd allowed you out of bed?" Ginny exclaimed as she knelt at Molly's side.

"Just today," Molly said proudly. "I was going to build up my strength to surprise you all. It means that I'll soon be able to come home."

Ginny stared at her mother, the love shining in her earnest expression. "That's the best news I've heard for months. We need you home, Mum. The Burrow isn't the same without you. I've been trying to keep it just the way you like but…"

Molly was thinner since the attack that had robbed her of her husband and her children of their father. She was thinner and greyer, her face contained more lines than it once had. But her eyes were bright and clear and they gazed at her daughter with love. "Hush, love. It's so good to see you." She gazed at the sweet face, topped with its crown of shining red hair and sighed, noting the dress and could only wonder at the implications. "You're looking so grown up, Ginny. I suppose you couldn't be my baby girl forever, could you?"

"I'll always be that. Even when I'm an old grey witch. Oh, Mum!" Ginny found that her cheeks were wet with tears.

"Ssh!" Molly soothed, her hands moving to stroke her daughter's gleaming red hair. This shouldn't be happening to her beautiful girl. She'd always dreamed of her marrying someone like Harry. "Everything will work out for the best." What else could she say? She lifted her head to see Kingsley and Tonks standing there watching them.

"You've not got long," said Tonks.

Molly gave them a nod to show that she understood and they withdrew to the corridor. They wouldn't be far away but they would grant them the privacy they needed. But she was surprised when Ginny pulled out her wand and performed the necessary actions indicating that several privacy charms were being activated.

"I don't want to marry…" Ginny confessed.

"I know," Molly replied. "If I'd been… If your father…"

"Don't," Ginny whispered. "Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault."

"What are you going to do about it?" Molly asked matter of factly. "You wouldn't be my brave Gryffindor girl if you hadn't thought of something.

"I…" Ginny stopped. What was she going to do? Her mother wouldn't like her answer but there wasn't another solution to the problem. If she stayed in the wizarding world she would have to marry Malfoy and if she left, she was deserting her friends and her family.

"I've spoken to Fred and George and I even managed to send Percy a howler," her mother said proudly.

"That's quite impressive from St. Mungos." Ginny managed. "But it won't change anything."

Molly leaned forward. "What does Dumbledore say? Cannot he help you?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed angrily, but she wasn't surprised at Molly's continued faith in Dumbledore. "He won't help," she said succinctly.

"Won't help!" Molly echoed. "What do you mean he _won't_ help?"

"Says he can't," snapped Ginny. "So I'm taking matters into my own hands. For the first time ever, I really know how Harry feels." She took a deep breath and ploughed on. "I'm going into hiding. I'm running away."

"Ginny!" Molly's pale face paled even further.

"What else can I do? If Dumbledore can't help me, who will?" Ginny reached out and grasped her mother's hands. "It's my idea and it will only be for a short while. Just until Bill or Charlie or someone…anyone, has a chance to get me out of this," she babbled wildly. "There must be a loophole. I cannot marry…"

"Oh, Ginny…"

"I can't…I won't marry him." The 'him' was so full of disgust that it almost made Molly smile despite the seriousness of what her daughter was telling her. "It's just for a few months," Ginny continued. "But you cannot tell anyone. Not the family, not Harry or Hermione…"

"Not Harry?" Molly echoed. "But Ginny."

"Especially not Harry," she said fiercely. "He has enough to worry about. The prophecy…"

"He told you?" Molly's face paled. "I didn't think he would have told you."

So her mother knew or like Ginny had worked out all the details. "I guessed, Mum. It doesn't take much imagination to work out what the prophecy says. He can't help me." She gripped her mother's hands tightly and averted her gaze. "Besides, he gave up on me."

"Ginny Weasley," her mother said in horror. "How dare you say that. He didn't do that and you know it. Harry was trying to protect you."

"I didn't want to be protected in that way. I wanted…I still want him and I always will. How can I…when I…?" Ginny closed her eyes, her shoulders shaking and began sobbing quietly.

Molly did what she did best - leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her incoherent daughter giving comfort. "I know. You love him."

A few moments later Ginny withdrew and with a sniff, fumbled for a handkerchief. "I can't tell Harry, Mum. He would try and find me and then I'd be back in the position I am now and he'd be in trouble. They watch Harry closer than anyone. They treat him worse than they treated Sirius and Harry hasn't done anything wrong."

"Neither, as it happens, had Sirius. They're only trying to protect him," Molly offered.

"Maybe," Ginny said. "They've not done a very good job, so far, have they? He's miserable and they ignore it for the greater good than Dumbledore is always going on about. I'm not quite convinced about their attempts at protecting Harry and I don't think that he is, either. He doesn't want to be protected. "

"That's a rather silly attitude for Harry to have," Molly remonstrated gently. "We all care about him."

"I don't think its enough for Harry any more. Dumbledore's caring is very suspect to me. Harry wants a normal life and he's never going to get one and neither am I."

"Ginny…"

"Don't worry, I'll be okay," she said bravely.

"I'm your mother, it's my job to worry," said Molly tartly. "When are you going?"

"As soon as possible," Ginny replied. "When I feel that I have to. You don't know anything. If anyone asks and they will when I've gone."

"Of course not," Molly declared. "I still forget things." She gave a small smile. "Spell damage, you know. The body has healed but my mind has not."

"You will…" Ginny stopped.

"Yes, I'm getting better every day. My forgetfulness isn't permanent. Not like Frank and Alice."

"Neville's parents," Ginny whispered in understanding. The Longbottoms had been Crucio'd into insanity when Neville had just been a baby. "We worried that had happened to you."

"But it didn't and they will allow me to go home soon. It won't be the same if you're not there."

"It's only for a little while. Till I'm safe."

"Your father…" The Weasley matriarch stopped and swallowed. "Your father…"

"Dad would have understood."

"He loved you all very much," Molly said with a sad smile. "Even Percy."

"Even Percy," Ginny echoed. "I know, he did. I still love Percy, too but I hate what he's become. What a pity Percy hasn't lived up to that love."

"I hope he will - one day before its too late. I do understand," Molly whispered. "Even if I'm not very happy about it. I'll worry if you're safe, if you're happy and eating enough." She smoothed her thumb tenderly over her daughter's soft cheek. "Tell me…why are you wearing my wedding dress?"

"Narcissa Malfoy," Ginny said, dislike evident in her tone, "wanted a proper pure-blooded witch today and not a scruffy Weasley blood-traitor. I'm going to look at wedding robes under duress and I'm being escorted by Aurors because I was, surprisingly, unwilling to go. I thought that this dress was more than appropriate."

"I'm glad you chose it." Molly said softly. "Merlin knows that I would never get into it again. I can't even remember being that size."

Suddenly, several loud cracks disrupted the relative peace and quiet of the corridor outside the day room. Ginny shook her head, her expression resigned.

"Ginny!" Tonks stuck her head inside the door, saying quickly, "You've got company. It's Dawlish and he's brought Percy. I suppose he wasn't happy about us leaving The Burrow without him." And immediately transfigured her customary jeans and tee-shirt into healer's robes, her face morphing into that of a stranger. "Your visiting time is up, Miss Weasley. Your mother is still far from strong."

Ginny cancelled the privacy charms with a quick flick of her wand. "Of course," she said, standing up and brushing the wrinkles out of her flowing skirt. "I see that my escorts have arrived. Lucky me."

"Ginny!" Percy bustled into the room brushing past the disguised Tonks as if she didn't exist. "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be with your future mother-in-law choosing your wedding robes. Mistress Malfoy was expecting you an hour ago."

"And my own mother isn't important, Under-secretary _Weatherby_?" asked Ginny, frigidly polite.

"Mother?"

"Yes, Percy," Molly said stiffly.

"Who did you think I was visiting in St. Mungos, you ignorant prat," seethed Ginny.

"I didn't know you were out of bed." Percy came forward, ignoring his fuming sister, and kissed the space where Molly's cheek might have been had she not turned away from him.

"You didn't know because you haven't bothered to visit me until now. I'm not very happy with you, Percy," Molly said quietly. "How could you?"

Percy coloured faintly, the tips of his ears glowing red. There had been rumours that Molly might not have been lucid after the attack but the healers had performed miracles. "The staff here at St. Mungos know that you're my mother," he stated pompously. "I was thinking about my sister's future and I've been very busy at the Ministry.

Molly's lip curled. "No, you were thinking of your own future and you have sacrificed your sister to a man she hates – a follower of Voldemort…" Molly gazed at her son with grim satisfaction as he froze at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, "…for political advancement."

"Nonsense," he blustered.

"It's the truth and deep down you know it. I am ashamed of you, Percy. Your father died in an attack led by Voldemort's followers and yet you still put ambition before your family. Do you hate us all so much to do this to us? " She lifted her head and gave the still altered Tonks a nod. "I am feeling very tired, Healer Ash. Could you escort me back to my room?"

As Tonks moved forwards, Molly embraced Ginny. "Be careful, love. I'll be thinking of you."

The young witch nodded. "I'm ready to go, Mr. Shacklebolt," she said politely. "Mr. Dawlish," Ginny inclined her head regally. "I was in no danger. You should not have worried."

"Miss Weasley," said Kingsley, holding out his arm.

Ginny placed hers through his, all the while ignoring the silently fuming figure of her brother and the bemused face of Dawlish.

oweH

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	14. Chapter 14

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 14**

Diagon Alley was busier than it had been for some time - the weak autumn sunshine making the shops look more enticing than they had since Voldemort's return. But the mood of the witches and wizards scurrying from place to place was one of haste and fear.

"Oh, come on, Ron," Harry pleaded. "We don't have to go straight home." He was sick of being cooped up in Grimmauld Place. "A quick trip in past 'Quality Quidditch Supplies…" He let the tempting offer hang and knew that his red-headed friend would be hard pressed to say no.

"You'd better not say anything to Hermione," Ron warned. "She won't be pleased. We're to go to Auror Headquarters and then I have to accompany you back to Grimmauld Place before returning to The Burrow."

"Would I say anything?" Harry asked mock-innocently. "You are so under her thumb."

"I am not," Ron retorted and then blushed. "Okay, so I am…a bit."

Harry chuckled. He was embracing his inner Slytherin side with a vengeance. "I won't be alone because you'll be with me and I'll even wear my invisibility cloak. No one need know I'm even there. I'll be quite safe. They've got a new Nimbus model coming out. I want to see if it's as good as they say it is."

"A new Nimbus," Ron echoed. "Lead the way."

It was fortunate, Harry concluded as he threw his invisibility cloak over his head, that Quality Quidditch Supplies was very close to Madam Malkins. Just as he and Ron approached the door to the Quidditch shop, he spotted Lucius, Draco and Narcissa Malfoy waiting impatiently outside Madam Malkins.

"Ron," he hissed, glancing at his watch. It wasn't that he'd forgotten about Ginny's appointment. He just hadn't wanted to think about it. Had he subconsciously wanted to see Ginny today? "Get back."

His red headed friend had no heed of Harry's warning and glared at the Malfoy family from behind a display case of pewter cauldrons. "They' must be waiting for Ginny," he muttered. "Blimey, I didn't think they'd all stand outside the shop and wait for her like that. It's not very pure-blooded of them."

"They want to be seen. They're powerful enough not to be afraid of V…" Harry let out an irritated sigh at the look on his friend's face. "Oh, okay, Ron. You-Know-Who. Is that better? They're on his side. Until You-Know-Who is defeated we can't touch them."

Ron, shrugged, his face reddening.

"Go inside," Harry urged. "Hurry! We better not let them see us. Or rather," he muttered bitterly. "They better not see me. I shouldn't be within so many miles of your sister and Merlin forbid, in the same street. As if I would do anything to harm Ginny. It's not me that's harming her…"

"Harry…"

"Its okay, Ron." He took a deep breath, letting his anger drain away. "I'm sorry. Just go into the store and wait for me. I want to try and hear what they are saying."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"They're supporters of V…" Harry stopped at Ron's wince. "For the hundredth, millionth time, it's just a name, Ron. Get used to it. Voldemort," he said firmly. "The Malfoys may let some information slip. Yes, I know that it's unlikely but…"

"Five minutes, Harry," Ron warned. "We shouldn't be out in the open like this without Tonks or someone else from the Order with us."

"Yes, I know what the directives are. I'm not stupid, despite what Professor Dumbledore obviously thinks. There's nothing we can do at the moment anyway and this is not the time or place to challenge Malfoy. We wait until your sister's in real danger." His mouth turned down at the corners. "Which in my opinion, she is. Have you looked at the hands on your mum's clock recently? But Moody would tell us to choose our options wisely."

"Harry!" Ron groused. "I'm standing in the middle of Diagon Alley talking to myself!"

"Okay, okay!" he said irritably. "Five minutes." Moving closer to the Malfoy family, he could see the bored look on Draco's pale pointed face.

"She's late. Why did I have to come, Father?" Draco whined.

"To greet your betrothed," his mother answered, glancing at her wristwatch. "You will show her how fortunate she is allying herself to a better class of family."

Draco sneered. "I suppose that anything is better than being a Weasley. But I still don't understand why you couldn't you have let me marry Parkinson? She knows how a pure-blood witch should behave."

"Miss Weasley," Lucius drawled, "…will be shown the correct way to behave as befits the bride of the Malfoy heir."

'Not if I have anything to do with it,' thought Harry, his mouth firming, the tingling in his hand where he had Ginny had mingled their blood making itself felt. He clenched his hand into a fist. If he had his way, Ginny would never be the bride of the Malfoy heir.

"Why has the marriage to be brought forward?" Draco asked. "Pansy's not going to be pleased when she finds out."

"You told me your liaison with Miss Parkinson was at an end," said Lucius, his forehead creasing in a frown.

"It will be when she finds out that I'm getting married today," Draco muttered. "Why does it have to be today?"

"You know why," his father answered sternly.

_The marriage was to be brought forward! _Harry's heart stopped. 'Shit,' he thought. 'Today! They're going to get married _today_! But she still has three weeks left. They said that she had a month. I have to warn Ginny. How can I warn Ginny?' The thoughts tumbled around and around inside his head. 'She's got to get away immediately and I have to make myself scarce. Ron and I must be seen somewhere else.'

"A family wedding always aids those in the public eye," Lucius lectured stiffly. "The wizarding world will realise that our Lord is no threat to those who go about their lives in the proper fashion."

"Really," Draco said cynically. "Nothing to do with the rumours kicking around the Ministry that our Lord has somehow been severely…damaged."

"What do you know about those?" Lucius demanded, whirling abruptly to face his son.

"Nothing," Draco muttered sulkily.

"Our Lord is recuperating," Lucius declared. "He will call us to his side when he desires our counsel and services."

About to turn, collect Ron from the quidditch shop and get out of Diagon Alley, Harry froze in place at the sound of Draco's words. He was stuffed and he knew it. Someone had put all the pieces together and Harry suspected that it might have been Snape – the man was no fool. Snape would have informed Dumbledore of his suspicions. The headmaster would have then discussed the matter with Mad-Eye or Shacklebolt. He could just see the speed that such a rumour would spread to the Ministry and beyond.

He shouldn't underestimate Lucius Malfoy either. The man was clever, he would give him that.

Suddenly several faint pops were heard just metres away from Harry's position and Percy Weasley, Ginny and several Aurors appeared in front of the robe maker's establishment.

"Thank you, Auror Shacklebolt," he heard Ginny say. "I'm so glad that I had the chance to visit my mother today. You were so thoughtful making it possible and I know she appreciated it."

"You were supposed to be meeting Mrs Malfoy," snapped Percy, incensed that his family still wasn't taking his position in the Ministry seriously.

Ginny sent her brother a look of dislike. "I am about to meet Mrs. Malfoy. She is standing in front of you. Excuse me, Percy." She moved past her fuming brother and immediately swept into a deep curtsey. "Ma'am."

"Miss Weasley," Narcissa said stiffly. So the little blood-traitor had been taught the correct wizarding customs. It was unexpected. Perhaps this situation would turn out better than she had thought and the young witch would be suitable after all.

Percy swivelled sharply and immediately his voice took on a fawning, ingratiating tone. "Lucius, Narcissa."

"Weasley," the Malfoy patriarch said slowly in a tone that barely held tolerance. "I suggest we leave the ladies to their affairs while we discuss changes to the wedding arrangements."

"Is there a problem," Percy asked, his eyes narrowing.

Lucius bared his teeth in an approximation of a smile. "No, no problem."

"What is it," asked Ginny, narrowing her brown eyes suspiciously at Lucius. "Something's wrong?"

"Not at all, Ginevra," Draco declared, his eyes sparkling maliciously. "It's not a problem at all -merely a development."

"Shall we?" Narcissa extended her arm in a graceful arc towards the entrance of Madam Malkins. "We are expected."

Ginny blinked as her feet began to move reluctantly towards the door. For a moment, just over Lucius Malfoy's shoulder, she'd seen Harry's head appear and then disappear. Harry was under his invisibility cloak.

And in that one brief glimpse, he looked as if he was trying to tell her something important.

For the next hour Ginny spent her time being 'helped' into one bridal robe after another. Yet none of the robes appeared to please Narcissa Malfoy.

"No," the aristocratic witch said, shaking her blond head dismissively at the saleswitch. "This is the bride of the Malfoy heir. Not some tasteless half-blood or classless muggleborn. We need something appropriate which will indicate her new station in the wizarding world."

Ginny rolled her eyes and turned away. What had Harry been trying to tell her? It was then that she felt her hand throb - a sharp hot pain which disappeared as fast as it had appeared. When she glanced down at the palm of her hand, she found only the thin white scar. And then she understood. There was trouble ahead and without seeing Harry again she knew that it was time to go.

She hadn't expected to have to escape from a dress shop but it would be almost impossible to get away from The Burrow. She thought that the Aurors might still be outside waiting with Draco and Lucius but there were other witches and wizards going about their normal affairs and that could provide her with some sort of cover.

This reminded her of some of the lessons Harry had taught them whilst still at school as members of the Defence Association. Look at your surroundings and analyse where there might be weaknesses. She assessed the area in which she was standing. The large changing area was windowless with hooks for hanging up robes on one side and mirrors along the other two – a curtain stretched across the fourth. It would be difficult to vanish from here. She'd passed her apparition test but suspected that Percy may have asked for a non-apparition bubble to be placed around the shop. It was probably better that she escaped another way.

Slipping back on her mother's blue velvet dress, Ginny stepped out of the changing area and approached the saleswitch, enquiring if it might be possible to use the ladies room.

"Of course, dear. It's this way." The saleswitch chattered brightly as she pointed Ginny towards a door at the back of the shop. "Just go through there and you'll find that it's the third door on the left. You must be so excited about your wedding – a pity that in these troubled times it has to be so hurried."

"Hurried?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, Mistress Malfoy tells me that the ceremony is to be held later on today and that's why we have to find you the perfect bridal robes as quickly as possible. We've never let a young witch down yet, you'll see."

"Yes, thank you," Ginny muttered, her mind in a daze. The charm that had bound her and Harry together had warned her of trouble ahead, of that she was certain. Draco may have been a Slytherin born and bred but he certainly lacked the subtlety his house was supposed to possess. Add all this to Tonks and Kingsley's information earlier on that morning. "I'm sure you haven't let anyone down – the robes are beautiful. It's been almost impossible to choose."

"You'll be able to find your own way back to the changing area, Miss Weasley?" the witch asked kindly. "Mistress Malfoy would like to see you in that first set of robes again."

"Of course."

No time to think, she just had to slightly alter her plans. Getting out of here immediately was paramount. The only other way she would be leaving the shop would be escorted by the Malfoys, the Aurors and Percy, straight to the Ministry to be married.

Setting up the imperturbable and silencing charms were easy. Transfiguring her clothes into something more casual wasn't difficult either. Her marks in Charms and Transfiguration had always been good. She deduced that the lavatory was at the back of the shop and would lead out into a small lane. If she was lucky it would have a window big enough for her to get through and wasn't too heavily warded.

She was in luck – there was a window but it was quite small. She lifted her wand and performed the intricate movements that Harry had shown her would reveal any unusual warding on the building. There was none. Moving inside the tiny cubicle, she locked, and for good measure, warded the door.

There were only two more things to do and then she could get away. Thankfully, the first on her list was easy. She picked up her bag and found a small twist of paper. In it was a selection of small brightly coloured sweets. "Thank you, Fred and George," she mumbled fervently as she brought one to her lips and kissed it, before popping it inside her mouth. "Metamorph Munchies it is."

The ticklish feeling she'd experienced the night before as they'd tested the Weasley products at Grimmauld Place lasted as long as it took for her body to morph into shape. She had approximately between five and ten minutes before she would change back into herself if she was lucky. It was time to go and with her heart suddenly thumping loudly in her altered chest she took a deep breath. "Alohamora!" The catch on the window swung open. Ginny bit her lip. The window was quite small and it could take her time to wriggle through it – time that she simply didn't have. Circe, there was no time for subtleties. There was no going back on this one – nor did she want to. After making sure that the silencing charm was in place she held out her wand. "Reducto!" she shouted. And watched with satisfaction as the window and part of the wall blew out with chunks of brick and mortar flying everywhere, yet not a sound was heard. Moments later a small black-haired boy in baggy Muggle clothing slipped from the lane behind Madam Malkins and disappeared into the witches and wizards going about their business, past a group of waiting Aurors and one Percy Weasley.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

"But Harry, why do we have to go to the Ministry now? I thought you wanted to check out the new Nimbus. It's really something."

"I know but it's time you did this, Ron," he said as they moved from the floo into the Atrium. "Plus, I didn't want to be near Malfoy any longer. He makes me sick."

"I can understand that, Mate," agreed Ron. "He's going to be my brother-in-law."

'Not if I can help it', thought Harry darkly.

Ron ducked to avoid a swooping paper memo as it flittered crazily across the atrium. "But we've been here already today. It was great working with Moody but I can only take so much. That eye…"

"Gives me the willies, too but he's good at what he does, if a bit paranoid." Harry gave a look of dislike at the restored Fountain of Magical Brethren. They still hadn't got the statue of the house elf right. However, the goblin appeared more lifelike than before and was gazing out at the passers by with sneering disdain.

"Time for what?" his redheaded friend asked.

Harry thought fast and said quietly, "Your apparition test." He couldn't believe such a convenient…perfect excuse had suddenly entered his head.

Ron scowled. "I can apparate."

"I know you can apparate and everyone else knows that you can do it. But you have this block inside your head when you have to do it during your actual apparition test and therefore you don't have the little piece of parchment that gives you the right to apparate anywhere you want to. So we're doing it now. Or to be correct, you're doing it and I'm going to wait outside."

"But Harry…"

"And when you've passed you can go home and tell Hermione. She'll be really pleased." Merlin, Harry decided that his Slytherin side was currently working overtime.

They both moved automatically into the line to get their wands checked and Harry, as usual, ignored the eyes of the wizard checking their wands when it automatically flicked up to the scar and away again. The whispers would start that Harry Potter was in the Ministry and then Fudge and possibly Scrimgeour would make an appearance. It was almost predictable, he thought. Perhaps he hadn't been so bad at Divination after all. But it might be enough to act as an alibi if Ginny did her disappearing act. He knew Ginny had seen him outside Madam Malkins and he'd felt the tiny throb through the scar in the palm of his hand. He trusted her to know when it was the right time to go.

They took the lift up to the apparition testing centre and Harry pushed Ron towards the witch at the desk. Her eyes flicking briefly to the scar and away much as the others had. "This is my friend, Ron Weasley," he stated clearly.

She checked her list and frowned. "Ron Weasley?"

"That's me," Ron said hoarsely.

"I'll wait for you out here," Harry said, giving him a push. "You go in."

"He's not…" the witch began to say and then stopped as Harry gave a minute warning shake of his head. Sometimes it did help being 'Harry Potter'. "Yes," he said brightly. "He is extremely nervous, but he'll be fine. I have every confidence in him."

"Thanks, Harry." Ron gave a nervous grin and disappeared through a set of double doors ahead.

"He's not on the list, Mr. Potter," the witch hissed quietly.

"I know but couldn't you just slip him onto today's list for me? I told you the truth. He gets so nervous. He only left his eyebrow behind him the last time he failed. I thought if it was a surprise then he might do better. No time to get so worked up…"

"Oh," the witch said. "That's very considerate of you, Mr. Potter." And with a tap of her wand Ron's name immediately appeared upon the list and also presumably on the examiner's timetable.

"Call me Harry," he murmured with as charming a smile as he could muster under the circumstances. He could already hear Fudge's voice as it came along the corridor. Yes, perhaps he should have done better in Divination. It was a gift possessing the inner eye. He stifled a snort of laughter. He'd just achieved exactly the result he'd wanted and he now had to deal with it.

"Aah, Harry!" the ex-Minister said a little too brightly. He'd lost his position as Minister not long after the fight in the Department of Mysteries for Harry's prophecy, but had remained in the government and had been awarded a post as one of the senior advisors for the new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour.

"Fudge," Harry said curtly.

"We didn't know that you'd be visiting us today, Harry," Fudge said genially.

Harry looked at the portly man in his striped cloak, without smiling. "I'm not visiting you," he said bluntly. "I'm here with Ron Weasley. He's taking his apparition test today." Harry smiled kindly at the reception-witch. "Miss…" he quickly read her nameplate. "Miss Melinda Arrowroot has been most helpful."

Fudge ignored the witch, his entire focus on Harry. "But you'll have time to come and have a little chat with myself and Rufus?"

"No, I have to get back…home. Things to do," Harry said shortly.

"Like…?"

"It's really none of your business, Minister," Harry replied firmly. "What I do should not concern you."

"I'm not the Minister these days," Fudge said with what he assumed was a jovial expression on his face but all he succeeded in doing was making himself look totally disgruntled and rather peevish. "Rufus is the Minister for Magic now and he wants to work with you just as much as I did."

"By calling me a liar and not believing anything I said?" Harry arched an eyebrow in a manner reminiscent of Snape. "Interesting."

"Now, Harry…"

The swing doors opened and a jubilant Ron hurried through clutching a piece of parchment. "I passed. Harry, I passed. My eyebrows survived intact this time."

"Wonderful," Harry said, a smile lighting up his face. "Hermione will be thrilled. Let's get out of here. We can apparate home. Good day Minister Fudge…Oh, sorry, _Advisor_ Fudge. I have no desire to discuss matters with Minister Scrimgeour today or any day." He turned his best smile on the reception-witch. "Thank you for your help, Miss Arrowroot. You were most kind."

Ron glanced at Harry and then at Fudge deducing that his friend did not want to talk to the man any longer He also knew that Harry was past being polite to Fudge's successor either. The days when Ron was impressed by the former Minister were long gone. "Come on, Harry. The apparition point is just along here. I can't wait to see Hermione's face when she finds out that I passed."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	15. Chapter 15

**The Unbreakable Vow B**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 15**

**Madam Malkin's – Diagon Alley**

Narcissa Malfoy glanced discreetly at the gem encrusted watch on her slender wrist. What was taking the girl so long this time? She guessed that the young witch was unused to dressing in robes of such quality and was hardly enthusiastic about this marriage but…

"Is Miss Weasley ready yet?" she enquired, with a delicate sniff of impatience.

"Miss Weasley requested a visit to the ladies room," the saleswitch answered politely. "We have placed your next choice of robes in the dressing room. As soon as she is ready I will bring her to you."

"Good." Narcissa smiled. "I will have the glass of champagne you offered me earlier now, thank you." The girl would realise her good fortune in time. Draco could have had any witch he desired. It was a pity the Parkinson arrangement had fallen through but living with a witch with that nose for the rest of his life would have been most difficult for her boy. He was so susceptible to the beautiful things in life.

"Of course, Mistress Malfoy." The saleswitch retreated to the tiny kitchenette just of the main sales area and began pouring the drinks. After handing the champagne flute to the cool blonde, she murmured. "I'll just go and check on Miss Weasley."

"Please," said Narcissa, taking a sip of the champagne. "Lovely." She knew that Lucius had arranged this little treat for her. Marrying into the Malfoy family had been everything she'd hoped for. The Black family had been wealthy but nothing on the scale of the Malfoys. The little Weasley would also find that fact true in time and would enjoy her new life.

The bell above the shop door tinkled lightly indicating the presence of another customer entering the premises.

"I hope you didn't book anyone else in for a private fitting this afternoon?" Narcissa said coldly. "We could have taken our valuable custom elsewhere."

"That's what we did, Ma'am," said the saleswitch. "The schedule was completely cleared. I will go and check with Madam Malkin…"

"Mistress Malfoy?" Madam Malkin herself entered the showing room. "Your husband is here."

"Lucius? Already?" Narcissa looked surprised. "But we're not finished yet. Ginevra has several more styles to try on."

Madam Malkin stepped aside and the tall elegant figure of Lucius Malfoy stepped forward. "Madam," Lucius intoned haughtily, "the Weasley chit should be dressed and ready to depart within the hour,"

"An hour! Whatever for?" Narcissa's eyes widened. "You weren't joking earlier on, were you? My Draco really is to be wed this very day? But…"

"The wedding has been moved forward. I informed Madam Malkin of that fact."

"Lucius…" Narcissa began to protest.

"I told you that this might happen, Narcissa," he hissed. "Draco gets married today."

"I am ready, mother."

Narcissa stared at her son, seeing him in a new light. He was no longer a boy, but a handsome young man, dressed in the finest robes of silver embroidered with green, his hair tied back in a manner similar to his father's. "Oh, my son," she murmured, tears in her eyes.

"You may be ready, Draco, but the bride definitely is not."

Lucius shook his head at his wife. "You have an hour to make her presentable. It has to happen today."

The silent message was sent and received. Narcissa swallowed and managed a cool smile. It was a lot to achieve in such a short space of time. "You are right. A quiet ceremony as the bride is still in mourning for her father. We will hold a grand ball in your honour after a suitable period of time has passed."

"That will be acceptable," Draco declared. "Where is my bride?"

"I'll go and fetch her," the saleswitch offered nervously.

Narcissa moved to her son, her arms outstretched. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she smiled warmly up at him. "I'm so proud of you, Draco."

The young wizard smiled smugly. "Thank you, Mother. I endeavour to make you and father pleased with my actions."

"Draco…you do want this?" Narcissa asked softly. "Because if you don't…"

"Mother…I…"

Suddenly there was a cry of horror and the saleswitch rushed back into the room. "Miss Weasley has gone. Someone has used a blasting hex on the window. She's not in the building." Not realising that the bride was actually being forced into marriage, the woman cried out in horror. "Someone must have taken her."

"What!" Lucius immediately drew his wand and headed after the trembling employee into the back of the premises.

"Look!" she pointed at the destruction. The window swung drunkenly on its frame half inside the building, teetering on the edge of collapsing into the street. "She's gone."

"So - we know how she got out," Lucius muttered, his eyes narrowing to slits of grey fury. "This lane leads to Diagon Alley?"

The saleswitch nodded.

"Then she may still be apprehended." There was no sign of Ginny Weasley. Had she been forewarned of their plans or was this just an attempt to evade the marriage?

"Was she removed against her will?" the witch asked. "The young lady seemed so happy. You are a powerful and wealthy wizard. There are unscrupulous wizards out there who might seek to kidnap…"

"What is happening?" Madam Malkin gasped at the state of the room as she arrived on the scene. "Oh, Merlin! Where is Miss Weasley?"

"That's what I would like to know," Lucius snarled. "The little…"

"I'll get the Aurors," declared the saleswitch faintly.

"Don't bother," Draco said snidely, joining his father. "I already did. There were several just hanging around outside this establishment." His eyes widened at the destruction. "She did this?"

"What is the problem?" Percy Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Auror Dawlish suddenly appeared behind them.

The Malfoy patriarch's face was livid with anger. "Your sister – my son's fiancée – has vanished." He waved a hand at the gaping hole in the wall.

Percy went scarlet and then white. "We've been watching the building the entire time she's been inside. She couldn't have…"

"How long ago?" Kingsley asked, his deep voice calm.

"I showed her in here not even ten minutes ago," the saleswitch whispered. "I didn't hear anything."

"Then she couldn't have got far," Dawlish said, climbing out of the window with little difficulty and standing outside. "Expecto Patronem – the Ministry." He waved his wand and a silvery Patronus emerged from the tip vanishing into the distance. It looked like some sort of bird. "I've notified the Ministry and asked for extra help."

"Good," Lucius snapped.

Dawlish glanced at Kingsley, but the smooth dark face gave nothing away. "The Aurors waiting outside should start to search Diagon Alley, Shacklebolt."

Lucius scowled. "She's a witch not a filthy Muggle."

"If she has apparated we can trace her magical signature. She won't get far." Kingsley flicked his wand in a complicated series of manoeuvres and a roll of paper appeared with a pop. "Mm," he said thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow. "A silencing and unlocking charm followed by…protective wards. Indeed, she is a talented witch." Harry Potter had been busy. As far as he knew, Hogwarts had not included such spells in the Defence curriculum but Harry had taught his Defence Association things that the Ministry might have objected against. "And for her final spell…"

"A blasting hex," stated Percy, his voice trembling, whether with rage or worry, it was difficult to tell. Ginny was after all, his sister. "Reducto," he muttered. "Potter taught that to Ginny a couple of years ago. She's a powerful witch and would easily destroy this window without too much effort." His lips firmed and the tips of his ears turned red, the fingers gripping his wand so tightly had turned white. "Potter," he snarled. "I told him to stay away from my sister. I warned him."

"Potter!" did you say. "He couldn't be behind this?" wondered Dawlish. "Could he?"

Kingsley frowned. For Harry's sake, he hoped not. "Miss Weasley is affianced to Mr Malfoy under the terms of a wizarding marriage contract," he murmured. "Harry would be extremely foolish if he meddled with that kind of magic." There were certain parties in the Ministry would like to control the boy even though he'd reached adult status. "He's been keeping his distance from what I heard."

"Oh." Dawlish didn't look convinced. "He'll have to be brought in for questioning."

"I expect he will unless he has also vanished."

"No one has reported seeing him today?"

Dawlish shook his head. "There was word that he working with Moody this morning."

"Then he did. We would have heard by now if he hadn't." Kingsley flicked his wand once more in another intricate series of diagnostic charms. Ginny Weasley had not apparated. There was no trace of a portkey. She'd just disappeared. But the use of the Reducto Curse suggested that Ginny had left on her own without any help. There was no damage from outside of the building. He followed Dawlish and climbed through the space where the window had been. She was an extremely powerful witch and he could see why the Malfoys wanted her. But if she'd reached Diagon Alley they should have spotted her. Despite his worry, he was impressed. Ginny Weasley had removed herself from a building surrounded by Aurors and several of the most powerful wizards in the country.

There were a series of pops and several more Aurors apparated into Diagon Alley. Kingsley moved quickly towards them and instructed them to go inside Madam Malkin's. With relief, he noted that Nymphadora Tonks was one of them. At least an Order of the Phoenix member had arrived.

"Tonks, could I have a quiet word?"

The Metamorphmagus came forwards, her eyes darting towards the shop front bearing the legend 'Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions'. "Sure, Kingsley. What's all the commotion about?"

"It's about Ginny."

"Ginny?" Tonks' face showed her incomprehension first and then worry. "She's alright…isn't she?"

Kingsley lowered his voice. "Ginny Weasley has disappeared. You don't know anything about this?"

"What!" the young Auror exclaimed. "No, of course I don't know anything. But how could she have just disappeared?"

"We both saw her this morning, Dora. Did she indicate in any way to you that she was thinking about running?"

"No. Did she say anything to you?" Tonks shot back and then heaved a heavy sigh. "She was a little tense and she demanded to be taken to her mother. You were there – you heard her." The young Auror began to pace restlessly. "Diagon Alley is crawling with Aurors. How could she just disappear?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," he admitted. "The diagnostic spells turned up nothing useful. I know this is a horrible task to give you but someone has to do it. Could you go to The Burrow and inform the rest of the Weasleys' and Hermione Granger about Ginny's disappearance. While you do that, I'll let Dumbledore know what has happened and go to headquarters. We need to rule out any chance that Harry was involved in this. You do know how Harry feels about her, don't you?"

Tonks nodded worriedly, her face white and her hair turning from bubblegum pink to a dull brown colour. "Of course I do. All this talk about her and Harry just being friends…" She sighed. "Ginny didn't want to marry Draco Malfoy."

"And I don't blame her," Kingsley murmured, sending Percy Weasley a look of dislike. He knew who was responsible for the match. "But we need to find out where she's gone or who's taken her. It's just not safe for a young witch in this current climate. Especially one with such strong ties to Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore - as well as to Lucius Malfoy."

"She's an important little witch to a lot of people," Tonks observed thoughtfully.

"That she is. I don't think I realised how important. She's either blasted out of the building by herself or someone else has done it for her. There's no sign of her. I think the Weasleys will appreciate hearing it from you rather than someone like Dawlish or even Percy." He jerked his head towards a crowd of platinum blonde heads. "I also didn't think that you'd want to hang around with your…relatives."

Tonks' face hardened. "And you'd be right." She sighed again. "We're going to have to speak to Molly. This will be the hardest of all. She's just lost her husband and now her daughter has vanished."

"St. Mungos," he murmured, in comprehension. "Ginny was very keen on visiting her mother this morning, wasn't she?"

Tonks nodded, her brow furrowing in thought. "Yes, she was. But I don't know how much help Molly will be."

"She seemed very lucid this morning," Kingsley murmured. "But I've not seen Molly since the attack and she was unconscious when she was transferred to St. Mungos at the time. All the reports I had up until now had her as extremely poorly."

Tonks peered at the piece of parchment listing the spells used in Ginny's disappearance. "Molly's much improved but still has problems with her short term memory. It was good to finally see her out of bed. She will eventually recover fully but isn't ready to be released from the hospital yet. I don't even know if her healers will allow us to question her."

"Ginny was reckoning on that very fact," Kingsley said with a wry smile. "She's not just an important witch, she's a clever witch. If what you're saying about the way the spell damage has affected Molly, there's a good chance that Molly won't recall exactly what Ginny was saying – if she said anything relevant at all."

"The little…" Tonks saw one of the other Auror's looking at her strangely and lowered her voice. "I hope she manages to escape this marriage"

"Dumbledore seemed to think it was impossible but I agree with you. I hope she stays out of the clutches of the Malfoys but we can't be seen to be doing less than our jobs. The marriage was to take place this afternoon with Percy the only Weasley in attendance." He wondered about the apparent failure of the marriage contract. It couldn't be very powerful if Ginny Weasley was as unmoved by Draco Malfoy's proximity as she appeared to be. He needed to speak to Dumbledore.

"I want her to be safe," admitted Tonks. "I wouldn't want to marry into the Malfoy family and I'm related to them."

_**xxxxxxx**_

Dumbledore peered at his Potions Professor through his half-moon spectacles, his normally cheerful expression grave. "Are you sure about this, Severus?"

"Do not tell me that you have no notion either because I would not believe you. This is not something that I would joke about." Black eyes met blue and both men gave a slight nod.

"Let me see, Severus."

Snape pushed his left shirt sleeve up and held out his arm. "It has begun to fade, Albus. I would wager my best set of cauldrons that Potter knows something about this – something more than he has already divulged. I tried to see past his shields when I treated his headache last night. I know you frown on Legilimising students, Albus but…"

"Harry is no longer a student, Severus," Dumbledore said softly. "However, I understand your viewpoint. What did you see?"

Snape's shoulders slumped. "Nothing, Albus. I saw nothing."

"Nothing?"

"The boy wouldn't look at me properly. To see anything I would have had to use considerable force. I did not think that would have aided his headache. He has finally been working on his Occlumency. I could not tell what he was thinking."

The headmaster was surprised. Severus Snape was a powerful Legilimens and Harry had never been a natural student of Occlumency. But the boy was proving to be an enigma these days – even to those who thought that they knew him well. "I suppose that's something to be thankful for although I wish that the loss of Sirius wasn't the reason he took to learning Occlumency again with such fervour. Harry has lost a great deal in his young life." The headmaster carefully inspected the intricate mark on his Potions Professor's arm and ran his wand over it a few times. "I think you are correct, Severus. The dark magic binding the mark to your arm has weakened."

"I've lived with that blemish on my arm since I was seventeen. I should be familiar with how it looks. I say that Potter knows more than he's chosen to share with you or the Order and if I were you, I would be asking why. Either ask Potter, or perhaps we should ask his useless little friends."

"Now, now, Severus," Dumbledore remonstrated his Potions Master gently, although he was already planning to talk to Ron and Hermione. "That is most unfair to Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. To be honest, I don't think Harry has been talking to anyone. Remus did say that he thought the boy was keeping too much to himself. I have wondered about his behaviour since the battle in Hogsmeade. Harry wasn't badly hurt but may still feel the effects of the curse he was hit with. I thought Harry would tell us if anything of such importance had happened but I must admit our relationship has been a little strained since the death of his godfather."

"It doesn't alter the fact that Voldemort has gone and Potter…"

"I'm afraid to say that the Dark Lord has not 'gone' as you put it. He's only been temporarily displaced, Severus."

Snape slumped against the back of the chair as if winded. "Like last time?"

"Yes. I am certain that he is not truly dead."

"I feared that was the case. Headmaster, if the Dark Lord…" Snape stopped as a transparent silver lynx flew into the room.

"Kingsley's Patronus," Dumbledore murmured in surprise.

The animal spoke, the Auror's rich voice emerging from its silvery throat. "Albus…Ginny Weasley has vanished. We don't know whether she's gone of her own accord or has been taken against her will. I'll tell you now there is little sign of a struggle. You need to get to headquarters immediately and see how much Harry has to do with this – if anything. Percy Weasley is talking about taking him in for questioning. That's if he hasn't also disappeared. He's the main suspect so far." With a flick of its tail, the Patronus disappeared.

"Potter!" Snape exhaled the word with dislike. "That brat needs to be locked up permanently," he snarled.

"We don't know that he had anything to do with this," Dumbledore stated.

"Surely you don't believe that, Albus?"

"No," he admitted. "But I've accused others before and been wrong. Innocent until proven guilty, Severus. Harry was desperately trying to find a way to break the contract and free Miss Weasley from her betrothal."

"Then he has accomplished what he set out to do," Snape stated. "The boy never considers his actions…"

Dumbledore's eyes dulled. "No, he's only delayed the inevitable – nothing has changed. It's a magical contract – you saw and checked it over yourself. Ginny is still bound to marry Draco Malfoy. We don't know if Harry's responsible for her disappearance and I hope, for his sake, that he is not. In any case, we need to speak to Harry about the other matter first. It's far more important than poor Ginny Weasley."

"I never thought I'd hear you actually admit such a thing about a student," Severus said mockingly. "But 'poor Ginny Weasley' may prove more important than we realise. For a penniless redheaded witch, she's captured the attentions of two of the most important wizards in the country. If Potter is the main suspect behind an empty room in a Diagon Alley shop then the Ministry will deal with him. We cannot risk that happening."

The headmaster frowned, worry written across his face. "You're right, Severus. There are those in the Ministry that would give anything to have Harry under their control and that would be as good as handing him to the Death Eaters. If the Ministry get their hands on Harry for any reason, that's exactly what they will do – lock him up and use him to promote Ministry thinking. But they cannot keep him safe. The Ministry was compromised long ago. We cannot let that happen."

Albus didn't reveal to Snape the perilous state of Harry's magic reserves - although, perhaps the Order's spy should be told. First, he was going to have to tell the boy the truth about the hex Voldemort hit him with and wasn't looking forward to the task. The young wizard had no idea that his magic was slowly draining away. The headmaster rubbed a weary hand across his forehead. Harry would view this news as something else that had been deliberately hidden from him and he would be right. It was another betrayal from those he should have been able to trust. Doing things for the greater good were beginning to leave a horrible taste in Albus Dumbledore's mouth.

"We will need to talk again after we have seen Harry." Snape knew more than Dumbledore suspected he did. What had the Potions Professor been about to say before he'd been interrupted by Kingsley's Patronus?

"Of course, Albus."

Dumbledore stood up and looked at his phoenix. "I will be at headquarters, Fawkes," he told the gleaming bird softly. He indicated the fireplace. "After you, Severus."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	16. Chapter 16

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 16**

**No. 12 Grimmauld Place**

Harry couldn't settle once he returned to Grimmauld Place because of the anxiety gripping him with relentless fingers. His thoughts were all concentrated on the redheaded woman he still loved. Yes, he loved her and his less than successful attempt at pushing her away had finally proved it to himself. He needed Ginny Weasley in his life. But he couldn't succumb to his feelings for her now or he'd give the game away. He had to stop his edgy fidgeting and maintain an appearance of innocent calm. That was after the headache potion he'd had to imbibe as soon as he'd apparated home with Ron, had taken effect.

Ron hadn't lingered long in the Black ancestral home but had immediately apparated back to The Burrow with a loud crack, anxious to tell Hermione of his success. Harry had never had to concentrate so hard on apparating since he'd first made a successful jump back in his sixth year at Hogwarts. Splinching himself was a very real risk owing to the current state of his magic but at the last minute, he'd had an idea – it was risky – but worth a shot. Taking a deep breath he grabbed onto Ron's arm.

"Harry…!"

"You do it, Ron," he'd joked. "Apparate us both."

The headaches and the dizziness he was experiencing were getting worse when he attempted even the easiest of spells. Madam Pomfrey had said that she'd saved his magic and it would recover in time but he wasn't so confident. He seemed to be getting worse not better. His time was running out.

"Lumos," he murmured. And for the first time ever - nothing happened. There was no flare of light at the tip of his wand, no rush of magic through his fingers. The dream of one day having a normal life in the wizarding world was still a dream for Harry Potter. For the moment, he was as powerful as Argus Filch, the squib caretaker at Hogwarts – magically useless. If someone came after him flinging curses and hexes, Harry could not defend himself. Not could he go hunting Horcruxes. He would be unable to counter the protective enchantments that Voldemort had in place guarding the fragments of his soul. He would be unable to do what his friends could.

In a nutshell, the supposed saviour of the wizarding world was completely useless. Madam Pomfrey was right. He needed to get away if he was to heal quickly.

He headed to the library and opened the books in which he'd been searching for interesting hexes. That's what he usually did when alone in Order Headquarters but his heart wasn't into it today. He had to face facts however unpalatable they might be. He sat in a dingy library fruitlessly waving a wooden stick in the air in the hope that it might emit red and gold sparks. For the moment his magic had gone and he was trapped inside Grimmauld Place like Sirius had been. His mind shied away from thinking of his godfather – it still hurt too much. His godfather had wanted the best for Harry - just for Harry.

Sirius had liked Ginny, he thought suddenly. He'd approved of her for Harry. He could hear his godfather's voice inside his head saying, "another redhead for a Potter male, eh?" and then Sirius would give that bark of laughter which connected him so strongly to his Animagus form - Padfoot.

He examined the white line in the middle of his palm, the result of the blood magic between him and Ginny. He still wasn't exactly certain of what he'd accomplished. Had she got away safely? When would he know if she'd escaped? They would automatically suspect him of having had something to do with it and they'd be right, but he was going to try to do his utmost to stop them from finding out. He reinforced his Occlumency shields, hoping that they wouldn't be tested. He'd taken the antidote to Veritaserum since he'd begun to put his plan in action but he still wasn't sure if it would be enough. Snape was the last Professor in Hogwarts that he'd ask for anything and especially not an illegal potion. Harry was not skilled enough to brew it for himself and had to sneak to an apothecary in Knockturn Alley to buy what he needed.

For the first time, he considered what might happen now due to Voldemort's temporary incapacity. He had, if he so wanted, time to go looking for the Horcruxes without the Dark Lord getting in the way. His pulse quickened until he realised another truth. Yes, he could search for the Horcruxes all he wanted but in all probability would be unable to destroy them. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his hands over his eyes. He had to be realistic. He didn't have fifteen years to waste away. He didn't want to wait fifteen years to know if he had a life or not. Voldemort was gone but not forever. His followers would not wait so long to find him and bring him back to life a second time.

He had a very strong suspicion that the Death Eaters were by now aware of Voldemort's demise. This time they wouldn't be so certain that he'd gone for good and would search for his disembodied remains. He reluctantly tried to think back to the events surrounding Voldemort's rebirthing. This was not something he wanted to dwell upon but it was imperative that he try to remember what had happened in the graveyard at Little Hangleton.

Not all the Death Eaters had been present during the first part of the incantation – only Peter Pettigrew, Harry and the deformed creature Voldemort, had been in the graveyard to begin with. _Pettigrew_, he thought with hatred. The rat animagus, once his parents' friend, had performed the dark ritual and he was still at large. Pettigrew knew how to bring back his Master.

Sirius had left him a pensieve in his will and he needed to examine these memories more closely. It had to be somewhere in Grimmauld Place and he wanted to take it with him when he left. The manner in which he would manage that feat had yet to materialise.

_Bone of the Father… _

The graveyard at Little Hangleton had been the place where Harry had lost the last remnants of his childhood. He screwed his eyes shut tightly and yet he still saw Cedric's body lying beside him, eyes wide and staring – still heard Voldemort's words...

"_Kill the spare!"_

"No," he whispered. He wasn't ready to revisit the memories that he still couldn't face in his darkest dreams. He replaced his spectacles on his nose and determinedly focused on the text in front of him, pushing away the memory of someone screaming. Harry blinked; he could hear a commotion in the entrance hallway. It wasn't a dream - the portrait of Sirius's mother _was _screeching loudly and unpleasantly about something. It meant that, apart from Dobby the house-elf, he was no longer alone in the house. Straining his ears, he recognised Snape's silky sneer, the headmaster's distinctive dry speech and a rich melodious voice that could only have belonged to Kingsley Shacklebolt.

He pulled out a parchment and fresh quill and began noting down information on the spells he'd read about, his ear fixed on the voices outside the library.

"Hello, Dobby. Is Harry about?"

"Harry Potter, Sir, is being in the library, Professor Dumbledore, Sir," the little house elf squeaked.

Footsteps began climbing the stairs and then the library door creaked slowly open. Harry did not react and kept scribbling things onto the parchment. When he read it back later, most of it would make no sense whatsoever.

"Harry! Could I have a word?"

Harry slowly lifted his head from the parchment upon and glanced at the speaker. "Professor Dumbledore," he murmured warily. "I didn't expect to see you tonight. I thought it was tomorrow." He furrowed his brow and hoped that he looked bewildered. "There wasn't a meeting planned for tonight, Sir…was there? I'll tell Dobby to…" He stopped and stared hard at the headmaster, chewing on his lip in apparent confusion. "Something's happened, Professor. Another raid? Someone's hurt badly…"

"No, Harry. It's time you and I had a little chat."

Harry swallowed but managed to keep his expression from showing panic. He'd known that Dumbledore was going to be watching him very closely. It was showtime. "About what?" He asked as he waved a hand across the books and pieces of parchment littering the desk. "I haven't had any more thoughts about the whereabouts of the Horcruxes but I have discovered some interesting spells."

"No, Harry. This has nothing to with the Horcruxes. I think you know what I want to discuss with you." Dumbledore moved into the room letting the door swing closed behind him.

"No. I don't." He rolled his eyes and shifted uneasily in his seat. "Unless it's the battle in Hogsmeade again. I've told you…"

"That is part of what I want to discuss, yes." The headmaster's eyes weren't twinkling like they normally did. He looked older than Harry had ever seen him to be – his face strained and tired. Harry squished down the ever-present feeling of guilt as he watched the aged wizard sit opposite him. He had to remember that Dumbledore was still keeping things from him.

There was a tap on the door and the dark face of Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared. He nodded at the headmaster and then turned and looked at Harry. "Harry!"

"Hello Kingsley," he murmured quietly in response.

Kingsley glanced again at Dumbledore who gave a brief nod. "Yes, come in, Kingsley. I know you also have things that you want to ask Harry."

"What things?" Harry asked. Ginny must have managed to get away if they were sending an Auror to question him. Kingsley had been one of the Aurors Percy had detailed to escort his sister. He still assumed that Dumbledore would ask him the Voldemort type questions. Swiftly, he pushed the thoughts behind his tightest shields and continued to try and appear confused. "What's happened? Someone _is_ hurt or…"

"Where is Ginny Weasley?" the Auror asked.

"Ginny!" Harry looked surprised. "What kind of a question is that?"

Albus watched the boy carefully. "Yes, Harry. Where is Ginny Weasley?"

Harry frowned, his bright green eyes gazing at the headmaster in confusion. "Is this a trick question?"

"No."

Harry shrugged, his tone deliberately sullen. "Ginny should be at The Burrow with the rest of her family. Where I should be, if you remember? But because of this stupid marriage contract, I have to stay away until she's married off to that…" Harry closed his mouth with a snap. "Ginny's at The Burrow with Ron and Hermione." He returned his gaze to the parchment in front of him. "And possibly the twins. They moved back there after the Malfoy's arrived with the betrothal contract. They don't trust Percy or the Malfoys one little bit. I don't blame them," he added defiantly. "I don't trust them either."

Kingsley looked at Dumbledore for a split second before saying with careful deliberation, "No, Harry, she's not at The Burrow."

"What do you mean, she's not?"

Dumbledore's face was grave. "Ginny didn't return to The Burrow. You did know that she had an appointment with Narcissa Malfoy this afternoon to select her wedding robes?"

"Yes, I knew that," he said impertinently. "But…but…she didn't return?" Harry asked faintly. "She didn't go home after meeting Malfoy's mother? She's maybe running late…" He glanced at his wristwatch. "Hell," he swore. "She's running very late."

Kingsley shook his head. "No. She's not running late."

Harry stiffened. "Then where is she? She's okay, isn't she?"

"We don't know where she is," Kingsley admitted, casting a warning glance at Dumbledore. "We wondered if you might know where she is."

Harry's eyes darkened and he sat up, his face horrified. "You're telling me that Ginny's missing?"

"Yes." Dumbledore sighed heavily.

"I knew that she was supposed to be choosing her…her…wedding robes with Draco's mother this afternoon and that she didn't want to go. I didn't know where they were going. I don't know where witches get wedding robes. I suppose there is more than one shop." His voice rose. "There were Aurors collecting her from The Burrow this morning. Didn't they stay with her and protect her? Maybe one of them was a Death Eater. Oh, sorry," Harry muttered sardonically. "She's being married into a whole family of Death Eaters."

"I collected Ginny this morning," Kingsley said. "I was outside Madam Malkins' shop the entire time she was in there. She couldn't have left without one of us seeing her."

"She disappeared from the dress shop in Diagon Alley?" Harry said, his voice faint. "And there were Aurors outside while she was there and you didn't see anything. How? Why…?"

Dumbledore interrupted Harry's panicked questions, his voice unusually stern. "I have to ask you this. Where were you this afternoon, Harry?"

Harry almost grinned. Despite his brilliance Dumbledore was predictable in many ways. "Me!" he exclaimed. "Where was I? I was with Ron." His green eyes darkened with hostility. "You don't think _I_ had anything to do with Ginny's disappearance?"

Dumbledore paused, grasping the pertinent point immediately. "You were with Ron?"

"Yes. I've been with Ron for most of today. We met Moody in the morning for some training…" He looked confused. "I thought you arranged it."

The headmaster shook his head. "No, that must have been Remus."

"Figures," muttered Harry. "I must thank him. He seems to be taking my training seriously."

"Were you working on new spells?" Dumbledore asked, leaning forward and gazing intently at Harry, ignoring the young man's jibe.

Harry saw the movement and understood. The headmaster was attempting Legilimency – the art of mind reading. He'd almost shot back. '_No, I can't do magic now, remember?'_ Dumbledore was definitely aware of Harry's problem. Anyone else might just think that the headmaster was interested in what Harry was doing but the young wizard knew better. "No – we didn't work on spells today," he muttered. "It was fitness training, actually. But Moody did show us some neat detection and concealment charms and then we flooed to Diagon Alley and popped into Quality Quidditch supplies for about five minutes. But that's not important now. Ginny is what's important. We have to find her. I bet the Malfoys have something to do with it. Death Eaters the lot of them."

"Where did you go after the Quidditch shop?" Dumbledore asked quietly, ignoring Harry's mention of the Malfoys.

Harry's nostrils flared and he sat up straight in his chair. "You think that I have something to do with Ginny's disappearance don't you? You're accusing me…"

"Harry!" Dumbledore raised his voice stopping the flood of words. "Harry. Please listen," he almost pleaded. The hostility he'd felt from the boy since the death of Sirius Black and the divulging of the prophecy was definitely out in the open. Harry was glaring him with dislike and he'd never done that openly before. Banked flames in the vivid green eyes burned. The young man was keeping control of his anger but only just.

Once upon a time as his anger grew, Harry would probably have performed accidental magic. Now, he would find it difficult to perform the simplest spell. Albus felt his own guilt beginning to rise again. He _had_ to tell the boy the truth and he had to do it now before more damage was done between them. He could see how unfair life had been to Harry Potter and perhaps Albus Dumbledore had made more mistakes than he'd realised. At least he hadn't raised another Voldemort. Had he even considered for a moment that Harry had the potential for darkness? Of course he had – every wizard had. As he'd often told Harry, it was the choices he'd made that determined what he became. The boy was powerful and deep down Albus had feared that power twisting out of control. "Harry…"

"I see," Harry said coldly. "You _do_ think that Ginny's disappearance has something to do with me. I would love to be the one to help her escape Malfoy's clutches but _you_ said there was nothing we could do. If you couldn't help her – who could? You are the most powerful wizard in the world. I would be a fool to even try. I'm stuck here most of the time and I'm hardly ever alone. Where would I hide her? At Privet Drive with my magic hating relatives or in the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix? That's not very bright." He shook his head. "You are certain that she's gone?" he asked.

Kingsley glanced once more at Dumbledore and then nodded. "Yes."

"Then I'm glad. This magical betrothal Percy contracted for her is supposed to draw her towards Draco. Ginny's free will slowly and surely will be robbed from her. You could almost say that this is a form of magical rape…"

"Harry!"

"Wouldn't she lose her magic if she continued to resist?"

"It's possible," Dumbledore admitted. "But Harry…"

"Would you like to search the house?" the young man asked. "You can if you want to. Were you lying about the marriage contract or just withholding more information? I searched through hundreds and hundreds of books and found nothing." Harry's voice began to rise again. "You are the most powerful wizard in the world," he repeated, "and you did nothing. Don't tell me there wasn't something that you could have done because I just won't believe you. And if there truly was nothing, why do you think that _I_ might have managed to do something that all the professors in Hogwarts say is impossible?"

"You should always know that you can trust me, Harry."

"Do I?" Harry laughed bitterly. "I can't say that you've proved yourself trustworthy to me recently. You don't trust me so why should I reciprocate. You lie to me and you manipulate me. I'm the one in the prophecy. I have to kill or be killed. I would have liked to have known about it sooner."

Albus pulled off his spectacles and rubbed his eyes giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts. With a sigh, he placed them back on his nose. Harry had placed himself very close to Ginny Weasley's location this afternoon. He was resourceful and he was determined but he wasn't a liar. "Harry, where did you go after visiting Diagon Alley? Kingsley is here on behalf of the Ministry and of course, Percy Weasley."

Harry shrugged. "Ron and I only spent about five minutes in Quality Quidditch Supplies. We'd heard stories about the new Nimbus and decided to have a quick look at it. We saw the Malfoy family waiting, figured that Ginny would be close by and decided it would be more prudent to remove ourselves from Diagon Alley and immediately returned to the Ministry. I had arranged for Ron to sit his apparition test as a surprise. We were both delighted when he passed it. I waited for him outside the apparition room while he sat the test. Conveniently for me, I even spoke to the former Minister for magic, Cornelius Fudge. It was me - no Polyjuiced impostor. Does this mean that I have a believable alibi?"

"All this can be verified?" Kingsley asked.

"Of course it can. You can check the time that Ron sat his test and you can even ask Advisor Fudge…" Harry grinned briefly. "…if he spoke to me this afternoon." He glared at the headmaster. "Will I be allowed a trial? My godfather wasn't so lucky."

If Harry had indeed been at the Ministry at a certain time it would be easy to prove. Kingsley got to his feet. "Excuse me for a moment or two."

"Harry…" Dumbledore began to say.

"No more, Professor. What's important is Ginny. Where is she? Was she taken by force? Did she leave of her own account? I blame all of you for this, you know." He clenched his fists as he peppered Dumbledore with his questions. "She was supposed to be with me, Sir. Not being with me should have made her safe. We stopped being…" Harry closed his eyes, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses askew as he did so. "I ended my relationship with Ginny because I thought that it would keep her safe."

"Harry…"

"I'll kill Draco Malfoy with my bare hands," he ground out. "I won't need to use any spell. An unforgivable is too swift. He has to have something to do with this. He doesn't want to marry Ginny any more than she wants to marry him. You know that Malfoy's been involved with Pansy Parkinson since they arrived at Hogwarts. The whole wizarding world expected a betrothal as soon as the pair was old enough. They're both nasty enough to be welcome to one another." He clenched his fists, examining them as if he was checking that they were strong enough to do the job he intended them for. He looked up. "I must contact Ron, Hermione and the twins. Do they know? They'll be worried sick."

"Tonks has gone to The Burrow," Dumbledore offered quietly. "They will already have learned what has happened by now."

Harry covered his face with his hands. "Oh, Ginny."

Dumbledore sat back. The emotions he sensed coming from the boy was of worry and distress. Surely, Harry, emotions easy to read upon his face, would have displayed his guilt for all to see. He'd never been able to lie successfully to Albus, his green eyes blazing the truth. Instead of a triumphant Gryffindor, Dumbledore had a grief-stricken young man in front of him and he was going to have to add to that burden.

"I have to find her," Harry announced, lifting his head from his shaking hands. He couldn't make any mistakes now – it could cost him and Ginny their freedom. But he hated lying to Dumbledore – he wasn't good at it. "What's being done to find her? Can I help? Please, I need to help."

"The Aurors were in place at the time of her disappearance and immediately started searching Diagon Alley. They have things covered, Harry."

"I'll help," Harry muttered, getting to his feet. "I know how she thinks." It wasn't quite the truth. Ginny Weasley was an unpredictable witch and he liked her even more because of it. No, it was more than 'like'. The feeling was much stronger. He loved her.

"No, Harry," Dumbledore murmured. "You cannot become involved."

"But I must," Harry pleaded. "She's my friend. I'm already involved. I also have to prove my innocence. If you suspect me for this, others will, too."

Kingsley walked back into the room. "Could I have a minute, Albus?"

The headmaster nodded and followed the Auror from the library saying, "of course. Excuse us please, Harry." Dumbledore did not see the small smile that crossed the young wizard's face as he left the room.

"I spoke to Fudge, Albus," Kingsley murmured quietly.

"And…?"

"Harry and Ron were exactly where he said they were and couldn't have been anywhere near Diagon Alley when Ginny disappeared. They were still in the Ministry."

"There were no communications?"

"None," Kingsley said. "I checked the area around Madam Malkin's for any traces of his magical signature. It's difficult to do as he's now an adult but Harry is currently in the clear. He's done exactly what we told him to do. Keep away from Ginny…"

Dumbledore frowned. Harry's behaviour didn't add up. Normally, the boy didn't follow the rules if he had friends that he considered were in trouble. The events of the Chamber of Secrets and the Department of Mysteries were very good examples of Harry's reckless need to save those he loved. Harry being at the Ministry at exactly the right time was suspicious. It didn't fit his usual pattern of behaviour. "He spent time with her here last night."

Kingsley shrugged. "We already know about that. Dawlish and Tonks have now returned to the Ministry after visiting The Burrow. They interviewed the remaining Weasleys and Hermione Granger. Hermione Granger stated that at no time were Harry and Ginny alone with one another and reported no conversations that could have led to Harry aiding Ginny in her escape. Ron, George and Fred Weasley corroborated her story. She could have been taken but I'm not certain why or by whom."

"How are they coping?" Dumbledore asked with concern. The Weasleys had gone through so much in a very short period of time.

"Extremely worried and upset. Tonks is going to take them to St Mungos and may have already done so. She thought that it might be best if Molly heard the news from her children rather than the Aurors and Percy." Kingsley sighed. Percy Weasley didn't rank very highly in his estimation. "Ginny visited Molly this morning."

"Did she now," mused Dumbledore. "Was that usual behaviour?"

"She often visits her mother but this time, she put up several privacy charms. I don't know what was discussed. I didn't consider it to be any of my business. Perhaps I should have," he added ruefully. "It could merely have been about the wedding and the duties Ginny would have to perform…poor girl."

Dumbledore put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a paper bag. "Lemon drop?"

"No thank you. Albus…" Kingsley hesitated. "It won't be so easy to get information from Molly. The healers are not happy about her being questioned at all."

"Her memory is improving."

"Oh, yes," the Auror agreed. "It's improving daily but she may still forget most of what Ginny told her – if she told her anything of importance."

"We have to hope that she does not forget," Albus murmured, popping a sweet into his mouth. If Harry hadn't helped the young witch disappear, who had? It was unlikely that she could have done this alone.

"I need to get back to the Ministry, Albus."

"Of course."

"We may still need to bring Harry in for questioning. Percy may insist upon it." Kingsley's tone of voice indicated that he thought the man idiotic enough to do so. "So far there is nothing to link Harry to the mystery of Ginny Weasley's disappearance. We need proof and we have none. Harry was probably in the Ministry before Ginny arrived at Madam Malkin's and was still there when she vanished."

"You will let me know?"

"That I will, Albus. I'll see you for the next meeting. Say goodbye to Harry for me." He headed back down the stairs giving a nod to Snape as he passed him in the front vestibule.

"Well?" Snape asked, climbing the stairs to join Dumbledore outside the library.

"No luck."

Snape glanced at the library door and frowned. "He denies all knowledge?"

"Yes, he does. Kingsley has just informed me that there has been no evidence to link Harry to Miss Weasley's disappearance despite all efforts to do so."

"None at all?" Snape's dark eyes widened. "The brat is getting sneakier with age."

Dumbledore shook a long finger at the Potions Professor. "The Aurors found no evidence, Severus. None."

"None?" Snape shook his head in disbelief. "I don't believe it!" he exclaimed. "Well, Potter, you may amount to some use in wizarding society after all. Albus, that boy is becoming positively Slytherin," Snape muttered with a trace of unwilling admiration in his voice. "He must have had some help. Where was the wolf?"

"Severus, Harry was in the Ministry of Magic at the exact time Ginny Weasley disappeared. There is no indication of Remus Lupin being involved and you know it."

"Can this be proved?"

"I've already been over this with Kingsley. Yes, it can be proved. Harry spoke to Fudge while he was at the Ministry. Remus is currently on Order business for me."

"Let me talk to…" Snape reached for the door.

"Leave him for a moment, Severus. He's very upset. Maybe we should…"

"Begin questioning him on the other matter. If he's upset, he may let something slip." Snape's black eyes glittered. "Personally, I still think that he is behind this. Potter's so arrogant that he thinks he can fool you and the Ministry Aurors at the same time. The Weasleys are undisciplined enough to follow him."

Dumbledore's mouth tightened. "Perhaps you should leave any questions to me, Severus."

"I would like to hear what Potter has to say."

"You cannot resist goading him, Severus."

"True."

"Perhaps it is time you stopped this ridiculous nonsense, Severus," Dumbledore said flatly. "Harry Potter is not his father."

Snape's lip curled.

Suddenly, the library door opened and both wizards turned to look at Harry. "Professor Snape, how nice of you to join the gathering" he said mockingly.

"Potter," Snape all but growled, his manner surly.

"Will you be staying for supper, gentlemen?" Harry asked.

"No," snapped the Potions Professor.

"I would still like to speak to you on the other matter, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "This is important."

There was a silence and then Harry gave an odd little smirk. "Of course, I was expecting that, Professor. You did say you wanted to rehash the Hogsmeade debacle once more, although I doubt that I can add to your knowledge."

A strange look crossed Dumbledore's face. "Do you, Harry? I would like to hear again about your encounter with Voldemort. You duelled him and again you survived. There are not many wizards who can make a similar claim.

"Probably not," Harry muttered. "Seeing as they're either dead or insane."

Snape's eyes narrowed at the insolent tone in the boy's voice. There was something about the way that the boy spoke and then he knew. The brat had guessed that they were now cognizant of the Dark Lord's current status. How had he known? He was no Legilimens. "Albus…"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'll speak to you later, Severus. For now, I need to talk to Harry alone." He ushered the boy back into the library leaving Snape on the landing. There was a moments silence and then the Potions Professor's feet clattered angrily down the stairs.

"Well, Harry?" Dumbledore seated himself at the table where Harry had been studying.

"Well, Sir," Harry returned evenly, moving a pile of crumpled parchment to one side.

"I'm disappointed that you failed to tell me everything."

"Really? Welcome to my world," snapped Harry, annoyed at the headmaster's ploy. He stood up straighter. "I continually find that I'm left out of the loop. What exactly I am supposed to have told you?"

Dumbledore's voice grew stern. "That you once again managed to drive the spirit from Voldemort's body."

Harry stared at the headmaster, his face white. Minutes ticked by, the tension in the air palpable. Dumbledore had finally given the seal of authority to what Harry had suspected for weeks. "I…I wasn't sure that I had done anything," he finally admitted softly sinking into his chair. "Not for several days after. Voldemort was killing me. He was laughing – he's always laughing. I hear that high pitched-cackle in my nightmares forever twinned with a flash of green light. It wasn't until at least a week later that I realised I'd felt nothing from my scar. I'd felt nothing since we'd fought at Hogsmeade."

"Harry." Dumbledore's expression softened at the frightened look on the boy's face. "Tell me," he said coaxing gently and then understanding came. "You used an Unforgivable, didn't you?"

Harry nodded, his head drooping as he stared at the surface of the table. "I had no choice – it was me or him and I chose to survive. I'm not very good at them – the Unforgivables. I never say the curses with enough dark intent but this time I was terrified. I thought I was dead." Harry bit his lip worriedly. "Will I have to go to Azkaban, Professor?"

"No!" Dumbledore's heart sank. So that was why the boy hadn't told anyone. He'd thought he'd be sent to Azkaban. Harry wouldn't last two minutes in that hellhole. His reaction to the dementors was already extreme. "No, Harry. You are not a criminal. You could never kill callously and enjoy it. Tom Riddle took great pleasure from the suffering he caused. No one else need ever know what happened."

Harry lifted his head and watched the headmaster carefully. "I was losing the encounter; Voldemort had almost backed me inside the apothecary's. I was trapped. I ducked, stepped back and suddenly I had nowhere to go and had run out of ideas. It looked as if my famous luck would finally desert me. There was glass showering down upon my head – the window had broken. He laughed that high pitched cackle once again - then he hit me with this strange hex…" Harry hesitated. What could he say safely? The probable answer was – nothing. Everything was about to come out.

"And…?" queried Dumbledore.

"And then he lifted his wand to cast the killing curse – I knew that's what he was going to do. He always has to announce it for maximum effect. _'Goodbye, Harry Potter, it's time for you to join your poor Mudblood mother and blood-traitorous godfather.' _He always has to tell mew I got in there first. I knew it couldn't finish him off permanently. You've drummed that fact into my head. Until we locate the Horcruxes, he cannot be killed. Still, I had to do something."

"Can you recall…?"

Harry smiled and Dumbledore noted that the smile was cold. "Oh, yes, Professor. I know what the first hex was and what it does. It's a pity that you didn't tell me anything more than it was an obscure text and you'd have to research it. By then it was far too late. I'd been bundled off to St Mungos where they treated my scrapes and sent me home again."

"If it had been obvious they would have treated it."

"Well it probably wasn't and they didn't," Harry snapped.

Dumbledore's eyes lost their twinkle and he looked ashamed. "I didn't think he'd actually connected with you…"

"No?" Harry said in disbelief. "He was standing right over me. Not even Neville in his first year at Hogwarts could have missed."

"Stranger things have happened," murmured Dumbledore.

"Unlikely." Harry managed to squeeze out the word between his clenched teeth. "You had time to inform the healers that took me away instead of this 'not to talk and save my strength, dear boy' rubbish. You could have sent a message with a Patronus charm. There would have been a chance that the damage could have been less. Did you want to limit my magic? Was I becoming too powerful? Did you think I could become like…him?"

"Harry, I…" Dumbledore gestured feebly with his hands and Harry noted with surprise that they were trembling. Albus hadn't thought that the dark hex would be so effective. But Voldemort was at the peak of his powers and had to have imbued the hex with an extra twist of venom that Dumbledore hadn't expected. He'd mistakenly supposed that if Harry lost some of his magical strength it wouldn't be a bad thing if it kept him from becoming a focus of power like Voldemort. A few hours delay in treating the hex shouldn't have made much difference. He had gravely misjudged the situation.

"I did manage to research the curse even further when I got home," Harry continued grimly wanting to make the headmaster think long and hard on what he had done. He still hadn't told Dumbledore that Poppy Pomphrey had been inside the apothecary's and had, on her hands and knees, crawled towards him as soon as the Death Eaters had begun to vanish, her wand out already trying to correct the damage that the Dark Lord's hex had done. She'd been close enough to hear the curse and owing to one of those lucky chances Snape always maintained that Harry managed to have, had read up on it just the night before. Harry hadn't been badly hurt, merely frightened and had been on his feet moments later. The Hogwarts' mediwitch had then attended to others in the vicinity that had more obvious injuries.

"The library here contains many informative dark texts. What I discovered is that this particular curse drains me of my magic. Riddle was making sure that I wouldn't be a threat to him…ever. Putting it simply," he said. "My magic is failing."

"Yes."

"And you didn't tell me such an important fact?" Harry said softly. "Didn't send me to Madam Pomfrey to have my magic checked? You assumed everything was fine until I started showing signs of a serious magical core breach. And yet, you still did nothing."

"I didn't know how to tell you. I did not think that it would take all of your magic. I thought that you would barely notice the difference."

"I find that strange," the young man said calmly. "You've never failed to point out unpleasant facts before. Oh, but then, no, you usually tell me when it's too late and someone is killed or goes missing."

"Harry."

"No!" Harry slammed his fist down upon the table making the objects upon it shake dangerously. "You knew because you were close enough to hear what the hex was and you should have immediately acted to help save my magic – it may never recover. If you weren't certain don't you think you might have asked the experts or checked it immediately yourself? According to the prophecy, I am the only one who can defeat Voldemort. I can hardly wave a useless piece of wood in his face or perhaps throw hard objects at him. I certainly can't use magic now. How am I supposed to locate and destroy the Horcruxes if I cannot get around the protective charms? He will undoubtedly have charms protecting parts of his soul. How I am I supposed to defend myself in a world that is none too friendly to me at times? I see-saw between the wizarding world's saviour, The Boy-who-lived or a raving attention-seeking lunatic." His voice had risen to a bellow. "You could have left me helpless forever – you may well have."

Dumbledore sat as if stunned. "I only thought to spare you more pain," he admitted.

"Well, you haven't," Harry roared back. "I can't even perform a lighting spell." He pulled his wand from his arm holster. "Look," he said, his voice bitter as he waved his wand. "Lumos!" And nothing happened. "You may very well have doomed the wizarding world, Professor by taking away the only chance that they had. I'm not saying that I would have succeeded but I had a chance and although Voldemort doesn't know the prophecy I would say that he has a pretty good idea of the contents."

The headmaster frowned. He hadn't meant for everything to unravel like this. He hadn't wanted anything like this to happen to the boy. "How long have you known, Harry?"

"Known?"

"How long have you known that your magic was failing?" Because Harry had indeed known, Albus now realised.

"Almost from the beginning," Harry admitted, remembering. "When something is so much a part of you it's easy to tell when things are going wrong."

The apothecary's window had shattered with an ear splitting crash and in an instant he'd turned his head and glanced at the aged wizard, hoping for some help. Voldemort had used Harry's inattention and had bellowed '_Magisiphonoux'_. He'd noted that the Dumbledore had registered the curse – registered and, something told Harry, that he'd recognised it before turning away to fire a defensive spell at another Death Eater. It was then that Harry had quietly severed Voldemort once more from his body with the use of the Unforgiveable.

"I'm asking you again," he said, staring straight at the headmaster. "Did you think that I was becoming too like Voldemort – a danger to wizarding society?" Harry paused, a muscle working in his cheek, his eyes glittering with pain and betrayal. "Are you hoping that when I kill You-Know-Who, I die too? I couldn't be allowed to survive afterwards as I'll be too dangerous a wizard? It all sounds very convenient."

"No…!" Dumbledore exclaimed sharply.

"Because that's what will happen. You've condemned me into not having a future. Forget Voldemort – he's the least of my problems - as the next time any free Death Eater sees me they'll be able to overpower me in seconds. I won't be able to do a thing about it." Harry took a gulping breath, his shoulders slumping. "You should have told me," he finished softly.

There was another awkward pause. "I'm sorry, Harry," Dumbledore whispered.

"I don't believe that you are," Harry said bitterly. "This happened nearly a month ago and you've kept quiet. You saw my increasing tiredness, dizziness, and headaches - all because of that hex. Every time I cast a spell I damage my magical core. It could be permanent. What will the _Daily Prophet_ say? I can see the headlines now. 'Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world is a squib!'" He wasn't going to admit to Dumbledore that Poppy had saved his magic by being in the apothecary. She hadn't known that Voldemort's power would boost the spell but whatever she had done had stopped the rot. The headmaster had placed him in an almost impossible situation and in Harry's opinion deserved to feel some guilt. He didn't deserve to know that Harry's power drain would not be permanent.

Only by completely removing himself from the magical world and Dumbledore's control would Harry ever have a chance of recovering and he intended on making that recovery possible.

"I'm sorrier than you could ever imagine."

"You'll pardon me for saying again that I have a hard time believing you. No more secrets?" Harry said quietly, arching a dark eyebrow sardonically. "That state of affairs didn't last very long."

Dumbledore's lips firmed. "You were too young…"

"I disagree. You placed far too much expectation on a child and not enough trust in the adult. I am no longer a child."

The headmaster seemed to deflate. "I know," he whispered slowly.

Harry wondered if by continually agreeing with him, the headmaster was hoping that the young man would eventually calm down and forgive him. But Harry was quite calm and wasn't yet ready to forgive. His forgiveness had to be earned. But first, he had other issues to bring to Dumbledore's attention. "And you did nothing for Ginny – nothing. The wizard considered to be the most powerful on the side of the light couldn't help her. What could I do that you could not?"

"You have shown yourself to be resourceful in the past, Harry," the headmaster murmured.

"Oh, please," Harry jeered. "Ginny should not have been left in such a position with you sanctioning an alliance with known Death Eaters. You question me as if I am a criminal - after all that I have done?" He stood up, his face hard. "I'm going to do something now – I'm going to find her without my magic."

Dumbledore frowned. "You cannot."

"You have no right to tell me what to do, Professor Dumbledore," he snapped.

"Harry, you just said it yourself," the headmaster got wearily to his feet. "You are defenceless. Your magic is weak."

"My magic is currently non-existent but you cannot keep me shut up in Grimmauld Place forever." He narrowed his green eyes. "I'll just have to risk it."

"No, Harry. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care…"

Dumbledore's face was stiff. He held up his hand. "Until we're really sure that Voldemort has indeed gone, you shouldn't be wandering around Diagon Alley or the Ministry of Magic by yourself."

"I know that the Ministry's full of Voldemort's followers," Harry declared, his lip curling. "That's no surprise to anyone in the wizarding world - it always has been. But they're much braver these days. They will look for him, Professor. They won't leave it fifteen years this time before they find a nice necromancy spell to rebirth him. Pettigrew is still scuttling around free from the punishment he deserves and he _was_ there in the cemetery. I'm sure Peter will be able to recall the exact words he used in the rebirthing ritual. It was Peter Pettigrew that killed Cedric Diggory - referred to him as 'the spare'. I'm sure if I looked I could find one or two suitable incantations somewhere in this very library. The Black Family were known for their love of the Dark Arts. I can't guarantee to be able to be there to help Voldemort's associates this time. They would have to find another enemy willing to donate his or her blood. I am correct assuming that he can be reborn?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, unfortunately he can. Not all of his Horcruxes have been found."

"I thought so."

Dumbledore attempted to smile. "We do now have some time to search for the remaining Horcruxes in peace. They must locate his disembodied spirit and that will not prove to be so easy."

"They did it the last time and they must know that he could rise again if anything happened. He claimed his immortality and he's right. I cannot keep removing him from his body at periodic intervals and I certainly cannot do that without magic. I am telling you Professor Dumbledore that the Death Eaters won't take long to try and revive him. You know I'm telling the truth."

"I don't think the prophecy means that you must use an Unforgivable curse to kill off Tom permanently," Dumbledore said carefully.

"I can't use anything to kill off Voldemort. If I cannot do magic it doesn't matter what I do," he shouted.

"It always matters, Harry," Dumbledore said soothingly. "You always have a choice."

With a sound of disgust, Harry stood up and angrily pushed his chair away from the desk. "I refuse to be kept here…"

There was suddenly a cacophony of sound at the front door. The portrait of Sirius' mother had started screeching again. Harry groaned and opened the library door peering down into the entry hall. He glanced back at Dumbledore. "Not a word, Professor about my magic."

"Harry!"

"Not a word," he hissed fiercely. "I mean it. I don't want them pitying me. I'll tell them myself and in my own way."

Dumbledore gave a reluctant nod. Things had rapidly gone from bad to worse. Voldemort was temporarily not a threat but Harry was not backing down and taking his advice the way he once would have. The boy had grown into a good man which made him very proud. But Dumbledore wondered if he would ever regain Harry's trust. He'd made too many mistakes in his dealings with Harry and it was proving to be harder to repair the rift than he'd at first thought. It was going to take some time.

"Ron! Hermione!" Harry dived down the stairs towards them. "I'm so glad to see you. Have you any news. Dumbledore and Kingsley told me about Ginny. Where could she have gone? Do you think the Malfoys had anything to do with it?"

"Where is she, Harry?" Hermione demanded, halting Harry's rush of questions.

"You must know," Ron snapped. "Where is my sister?"

"I don't know," Harry said, hoping they couldn't tell that he was lying. He'd never been able to lie very convincingly. His Occlumency had improved beyond recognition but it still had, in his opinion, a long way to go. "Why should I know?" He had a pretty good idea where Ginny was at this moment in time but it was by no means a certainty. "Ron, I really don't know where she is. I hope she's okay and if she is, I'm glad she's well away from Malfoy. I wish I'd thought of it myself."

Ron glared at him. "Percy says that you're the one responsible."

"Well, Percy has a tendency to talk out of his backside," Harry retorted, suddenly annoyed at Ron's attitude. One day, Ron's tendency to spout off without thinking of the consequences would get him into serious trouble. "_He_ wanted her to marry Malfoy," he spat back at his redheaded friend. "Ron, how could I be responsible for her disappearance? I was with _you_ all afternoon. You came back here with me and then went to The Burrow."

"Oh…yeah," Ron muttered feebly, the fire going out of him. "Look, I'm sorry, mate, but I'm worried about my sister." He straightened his shoulders. "Hermione thought…"

"Hermione thinks too much on occasions," grumbled Harry underneath his breath. "Don't you think that if I had arranged Ginny's disappearance that I would be gone, too?"

Hermione flushed and looked down. "I'm sorry, Harry but you were trying to find her a way out the marriage."

"And you had given up," Harry gibed. "You were supposed to be her friend. How could _I_ manage such a scheme without you to help me?" He hoped she didn't hear the sarcasm. He loved Hermione but sometimes she got too full of herself. Her intellectual ability occasionally overrode her common sense but she wouldn't be fooled for long.

Dragging Hermione and Ron into his plans would only slow him down and endanger them all. He and Ginny had to do this without them.

Hermione assessed Harry suspiciously. "You don't look too upset by all of this."

"Of course I'm upset," he ground out between clenched teeth. "Ginny's gone, Merlin knows where or has been taken by Voldemort's chums and you ask if I'm upset. Hermione!" He howled at her in disbelief. "I'm upset that everything got this far and Ginny, if she's made her own escape, had to do that without any of us being able to help her because she felt that it was her only way out. Ginny didn't trust her own family to help her." He levelled a glare at Hermione. "I'm upset that the supposedly smartest witch in Hogwarts could say something so stupid. Go and ask the headmaster what he thinks. He's in the library."

"Dumbledore's here?" Hermione looked surprised.

"Didn't I just say that?" Harry dug his fingernails into his palms, the pain focusing him on not losing his rapidly fraying temper. "I've already answered questions from him and from Shacklebolt."

"Kingsley?" queried Hermione, looking surprised. "My goodness. They've been very quick. That will be part of the official investigation. Harry, please tell us if you know anything."

"I don't know anything. I wish I did," Harry returned stiffly. There was an awkward silence. "Great," Harry said irritably. "My own friends don't believe me."

"Do you blame us?" asked Ron. "She's my sister and the pair of you have been whispering together ever since the contract was announced."

"And I'm your best friend," Harry muttered quietly. "But it doesn't count for much with you, does it?" He took a steadying gulp of air. "When did Ginny and I get the chance to 'whisper' as you put it? I moved out of The Burrow immediately after Percy and the Malfoys left. We haven't had a chance to think up anything. Ginny and I have hardly had the chance to say two words to one another without anyone else witnessing our conversation. Ginny's my friend, too. I owe it to her and to you, Ron, for all that your family has done for me."

"I do believe you, Harry," Ron said, the tips of his ears turning red. "Sorry, mate."

"Didn't sound like it," Harry grumbled.

Hermione sighed, suddenly feeling rather guilty. "I'm sorry, Harry. I'm just so worried about Ginny."

"And you think that I'm not? I've researched the spells used to make that contract and haven't been able to find a way to break it. But I'm not about to stop trying. Ginny may have bought us some time. If you were to help…" He dangled bait of research in front of Hermione knowing that she would find it difficult to resist. "I found several books in the library upstairs dealing with contractual parchments. There are a lot of Arithmancy calculations in them. That's your subject not mine. Professor McGonagall agreed to give me access to the restricted section in the library at Hogwarts the next time I visited."

Hermione's eyes lit up as she capitulated. "Let me see the books, Harry. I can arrange a time with Professor McGonagall myself."

"Thank you, Hermione. We may, between us, find something that will help." He looked up feeling Dumbledore's eyes on him. "The library and its contents are at your disposal, Hermione." This would distract Hermione. He only hoped that it would do the same for Ron.

He felt for the outline of the small book on blood oaths hidden in his pocket. This was his own secret research. Harry had noticed that Ginny hadn't been drawn to Malfoy in the way that the marriage contract intended. In fact, he'd been banking on it. He hadn't known what the outcome of the blood-sharing would be but he hoped that it would run deeper than the Ministry's contract. Old magic – blood magic, was unpredictable but something had happened between them. They'd both felt it.

Whatever it was - it gave them both a chance.

22


	17. Chapter 17

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by**

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 17a**

The Leaky Cauldron was almost empty, only a few wizarding folk loitered at the tables, conversing quietly with one another or partaking of a meal. Voldemort's return had made it unsafe for large groups of magical folk to congregate together. But if what Harry said was true, then…

Ginny didn't risk looking around for a familiar face. She gave a nod towards Tom, the barman, before stepping out of the wizarding world and into her new life in Muggle London. Glancing swiftly down at her map, she took in the directions once more before tucking it into the pocket of her coat. She had to move quickly but not so hurriedly that it looked suspicious. The sudden urge to take to her heels and run for cover as fast as she could, had to be ignored. She couldn't draw any attention to herself. Her current disguise of a plump middle-aged witch meant that no one spared her a second glance as she moved towards her destination but it felt that everyone was staring at her.

The property was in – she checked again - Rood Lane and it was close, which was just as well. The Metamorphmagus Munchies would only last a couple more minutes and it was getting dark. She took a deep breath and walked quickly towards a block of modern looking flats. This was it – it had to be.

"_Go there," Harry had whispered to her. "Lie low. Don't go out. The place is fully stocked with everything you need. I'll join you as soon as I can. It may be at least a week but it will confuse our pursuers."_

_She'd given him smile and a quick nod._

"_Do what I probably couldn't do," Harry said, a wry smile on his face. "Be patient and wait. I'll come to you and don't do any magic."_

_Then the others had joined them in the library and Harry had immediately turned to the bookshelves, searching through the titles with a concentration that spoke of his whole being involved in that task._

'Hurry Harry,' she thought.

For a moment, Ginny stared up at the building before she came to her senses. How did one get into this place? There would be no more whispering 'Alohomora', the comforting feel of her wand directing her magic. She now had to use a key like the Muggles did. Scrabbling in the pocket of her transfigured coat, the small hard object pressed into the palm of her hand as with a relieved sigh she closed her fingers over it.

"Going in?" A middle aged man asked with a smile as he held open the entry door. "Here."

"Oh, yes," Ginny answered feeling stupid. The key still clutched between her fingers. "Thank you."

The man nodded and let the door swing closed behind her as he stepped into the street and walked briskly away. The brightly lit entrance hall beckoned her forwards until she stopped in front of two shiny silver doors. She knew all about lifts because of the many times she'd visited her father's office in the Ministry of Magic. Somehow she didn't think that this lift worked in exactly the same way.

"Uh…open?" Nothing happened and then she recalled her Muggle studies notes. Muggles liked to press things – she'd seen the diagrams. And sure enough, there was a button marked with an arrow next to the shiny doors. Carefully she pressed it and almost instantly the doors slid aside. It was just in time too, as the Fred and George engineered sweets lost their effect and as the doors closed again, Ginny reverted to herself, wizard robes and all.

Harry had told her that the flat was on the top floor and quickly scanning the buttons inside the lift pressed the correct digit. Her stomach lurched as the lift travelled upwards stepping out onto another brightly lit corridor. It was spotless…soulless with cool cream tiles on the floor and white painted walls. There was only one flat on this level and this was the one that Harry owned. This was to be her prison but ultimately it would keep her free.

She inserted the key into the lock and crept into the dark apartment her hands shaking with nervousness, holding her breath until the door clicked closed behind her. Now came the hard part. She had to wait for Harry to join her without doing any magic at all. She just couldn't begin to fathom how Muggles managed to exist without magic but she was going to have to learn very quickly.

Merlin, it was dark. Automatically, she whipped out her wand ready to utter the word 'Lumos' and then her brain caught up with her mouth. The Muggles had electricity and she had to look for buttons or switches on the wall near door frames to make their lights work. Her nervous fingers tapped around the door to no avail. It had to be here somewhere. Eventually, Ginny gave up and sank to the floor, curling herself into a protective little ball.

How long she stayed like that, she had no idea but her stomach and her bladder began to protest. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she began to make out the outlines of the furniture and finally the windows where the glow from the streetlamps several floors below still influenced the darkness of Harry's flat.

Her muscles protested at the cramped foetal position she'd wound herself into as she stretched and stood up. She'd almost expected to hear running feet and pounding fists on the door as her pursuers caught up with her. There was silence and no one. She let out the breath she'd been holding. She was alone.

She inched her way forward, letting out a curse when her shin connected with what appeared to be a low table. There was a door ahead leading into a narrow corridor. Her hands found a door – it looked to be a bedroom. She moved on, the next door was also a bedroom. The third door she tried was the bathroom and her eyes, now adjusted to the dark, could see the shape of the sink ahead.

"Finally," she breathed. "I was about to burst." And the thought made her giggle a little. She ignored the slight sound of hysteria in that laughter.

Returning to the lounge, she made it as far as the couch, and subsided into the cushions. Exhausted, she covered herself with her cloak, closed her eyes and slept.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

It had been a hell of a week.

A beleaguered Harry had finally resorted to hiding in his room in what was supposed to be his own house. He'd been left No. 12 Grimmauld Place after the death of Sirius but hadn't especially wanted the gloomy old house – he'd rather have had his godfather alive. But Harry rarely got what he wanted.

Every couple of days, the members of the Order of the Phoenix met in Grimmauld Place to discuss in hushed whispers the latest news in the fight against Voldemort and more frequently than that if there was a crisis. The strange rumours about the Dark Lord's supposed disappearance had begun to circulate around the wizarding world but no one was entirely certain if this was the case. Harry and the younger witches and wizards frequenting Order headquarters hadn't been told anything concrete about anything and were, as usual, trying to garner information by eavesdropping.

The Ministry of Magic had not made any official announcements. But then, the Ministry were always the last to get the facts right.

Sirius, unable to join in the fight, had offered his property to Dumbledore as somewhere the Order could use as a safe house. It hadn't occurred to Harry, as the new owner, to refuse entry to the witches and wizards belonging to the Order of the Phoenix when the contents of the will had been announced and renegotiate his own terms. Grimmauld Place hadn't figured in his future apart from somewhere that wasn't Privet Drive. He hadn't planned on spending any more time there than he could help. It wasn't the same without Sirius. He'd never owned anything as large as a house before and now he had at least three.

In Privet Drive Harry had been left far too much on his own and would have longed for contact with the magical world. In Grimmauld Place he found he was never alone; constantly interrupted by wizards wanting him to feel better without telling him anything useful. It was as if Dumbledore was trying to make up for eighteen years of neglect in a matter of days – and failing.

Dumbledore had made several mistakes where Harry was concerned and the young wizard reckoned that the headmaster knew it because he was bending over backwards to be nice to him. But Harry noted that he was being watched more carefully than ever before and the incessant parade of people he barely knew through the doors of Grimmauld Place, made him thankful that he had kept his own counsel. He was glad in a way that he and Ginny had made plans not to contact one another but he felt anxious and wondered if she was safe or not. She had to be safe. He didn't know what he would do without her.

He was pretty sure she still hadn't been found and for that, Harry was grateful. It appeared to him to be more and more certain that she'd reached the small apartment he'd bought close to the entrance to Diagon Alley. It was a risky venture hiding so close to the wizarding world but it made perfect sense to Harry. Any mistakes they made could be passed off as belonging to a witch or wizard exiting Diagon Alley.

Ron had stopped questioning Harry over Ginny, apart from an occasional, "Do you think she's okay, Harry?"

"I hope so. Merlin, I hope so, Ron," he'd answered. And it was the truth. He did hope that she was alright.

Hermione, on the other hand, still quizzed him on what felt like an hourly basis. Harry knew that she was too clever to fool for long and she was suspicious of him. His offer to help her with researching contractual spells had come back to haunt him as she hounded him to join her in the library researching from massive leather-bound dusty tomes. Fred and George hadn't said anything but had given Harry a serious look and a slight nod. He didn't show that he'd seen or that he had even understood the gesture. It was better if nothing was ever discussed aloud.

There had been more interviews with various Aurors belonging to the Order like Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"No," he'd snapped for the umpteenth time. I did not help her escape. I do not know where she could be. Yes, I'm glad she's gone and yes, I do wish that I could have helped her. Anything else?"

Tonks had patted his shoulders and retreated from the room, her hair a dull mousy brown. Harry knew she was sympathetic to his and Ginny's plight. Tonks was a good friend.

There had even been an irate demand in howler form from Percy Weasley that Harry be delivered to the Ministry to answer questions under Veritaserum but he had refused to go and unsurprisingly, had been supported in this by Dumbledore. The Hogwarts' Headmaster wanted Harry confined to Grimmauld Place where he was safe and hidden by the Fidelius Charm. They couldn't risk Harry spilling any of his other secrets to a Ministry interviewer. It was too dangerous.

The Minister for Magic had reluctantly agreed that that, so far, there was no evidence linking Harry to Ginny's disappearance and had denied Percy Weasley his chance to get back at Harry for slights real and imagined. From the Malfoy family there was only silence but Harry didn't doubt that all their available resources were out there searching for the Malfoy bride-to-be. Shacklebolt had submitted a pensieve record of Harry's questioning and for the moment, he was in the clear - innocent until proven guilty.

Harry was hiding in his room, mainly to avoid Hermione. When he'd declined to continue leafing through the ancient volumes from the library for a few more hours, she'd decided that she wanted him to practice some defensive spells with her that she'd not yet mastered. He'd roughly brushed her off, which had spurred Ron into an argument on his girlfriend's behalf. Harry had refused to descend to Ron's level which consisted of shouting insults and had instead, scowled and stomped upstairs banging his door loudly.

He ignored several calls for him to come down for dinner. He wasn't hungry. Dobby had already brought him something to eat. He'd actually started avoiding mealtimes as he was fed up with the way the Order members stared at him. He wasn't a specimen in some magical zoo but at mealtimes, he felt like one. Snape looked as if he'd be quite happy to force several vials of Veritaserum or worse, poison, down Harry's throat whilst chanting _Crucio_ in a happy voice. Harry made certain never to be alone with Snape or to look him directly in the eye.

There was a tentative tap at the door.

"Go away," he snarled, thinking that it was Hermione. It usually was.

"Harry!" It was Dumbledore. "Could I perhaps have a word with you?"

"Sure," he murmured, flinging open the door and stepping out into the upper landing. It must be important if the headmaster had come to fetch Harry himself. He noted the door across from his, opening a little and Hermione's face peeping through the gap. "In private?" he asked just loud enough for Hermione to hear. He wasn't being very nice to her but at that point, he didn't care. Why couldn't she just leave him alone for five minutes? He heard her sniff and her door shut with an offended click.

"We'll go down to the library," Dumbledore agreed smoothly.

They proceeded in silence until the library door was closed behind them. With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore put up several privacy charms.

"You know, Harry, you should perhaps tell Ron and Hermione what is happening. I can sense the strain between you. You will need your friends around you more than ever in the coming months. You used to share everything with them."

"If I want to tell them, I will. It's my business," he declared stiffly. "They're right outside this door trying to hear what you're saying to me using Fred and George's Extendable Ears. I can tell that without magic. Why can't they just let me be?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, we're going to have to address your current difficulties very soon. It will be nigh on impossible to hide things for much longer."

Harry snorted. "Current difficulties!" He shook his head in disgust. "That's one way of putting it I suppose. I prefer a straighter way of telling the truth. Basically, I have no magic," he said baldly. "I'm a Squib." He turned his head away from Dumbledore and let the gulf between them widen. "My difficulties are nothing compared to what Ginny has been going through." He turned his head back and glared at the headmaster. "I should have been able to help her get out of this mess. Has there been any word? Have they searched everywhere?"

"They've tried all the usual places, Harry."

"What about the unusual places – like Malfoy Manor, for instance?" he said arching an eyebrow. "Has the Ministry bothered the Malfoys with a visit? Or are they paying their way out of trouble as usual?"

"For the time being we can do nothing but she will eventually be found," the headmaster murmured softly, ignoring Harry's questions about the Malfoys. He stared at Harry for a moment longer and then gave a nod as if he'd made a momentous decision. "But there is something that we can do to help you, Harry. We've come up with a solution."

"A solution for what?" And then Harry froze. "For my magic…it can be cured?" he whispered, hope shining in his wide green gaze. Albus Dumbledore was, after all, the most powerful light wizard of the age. It wouldn't change any of Harry's current plans. He still needed to leave the wizarding world for Ginny's sake but to have his magic back would be wonderful.

The headmaster closed his eyes as if something pained him greatly. "The solution is for your magical drain, yes, Harry. But perhaps not in the way you were hoping – the cure is not a simple one. I cannot just wave my wand and reverse the effects of the hex. I only wish that I could."

"A potion?" Harry asked almost desperately. "There must be something?"

Dumbledore shook his head. He wished he had better news for the boy but he was going to have to disappoint him - something that had happened all too often in his short life. "No, not a potion, Harry. But the most valuable thing there is – time. All I can give you is time. I consulted with one of St Mungos' top experts in magical drainage."

"You did what!" Harry exclaimed incredulous and angry that the headmaster would expressly go against his wishes in this matter. He hadn't wanted anyone else to know of his…'current difficulties'. Yet a small part of him wondered at the mention of his peculiar complaint which made it sound as if he was suffering from a plumbing accident.

"Dumbledore held up his hands placatingly. "I mentioned no names, Harry. He does not know the identity of the witch or wizard in question. I will keep your secret for as long as I have to. I didn't talk to Madam Pomfrey for that very reason."

Harry's eyes narrowed but he walked to one of the comfortable reading chairs and seated himself, slouching back into the cushions. He didn't like the sound of that. There was a hidden threat in that sentence. "Go on."

"Listen to what I have to say, Harry, before you make any snap decisions."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Harry voiced his thoughts.

"As you have discovered, you are finding it difficult to access your magic. Recovery will take time…probably years. There's no easy way to put this, Harry. I'm sorry. You must return to the Muggle world…" Dumbledore paused and assessed the young man carefully. Harry had gone very pale but didn't seem surprised.

"Must I."

"Harry, you need to return to the house of your family. You need to return to Privet Drive."

"Like hell I will," Harry snarled, abruptly sitting straight up. "They're not my family."

"Now listen, Harry," Dumbledore said firmly. "The wards and blood protections are still in place for the Dursley's benefit. I, myself, went yesterday and re-strengthened the wards adapting them for an adult wizard..."

"No," Harry interrupted.

"All you need to do is return there for a few years and…"

Harry stiffened. "No. I'm never going back there again. I wasn't treated right. What they did to me was psychological and physical abuse – I can see that clearly now and so should you. Petunia and Vernon Dursley hated the sight of me from the moment they discovered me left on their doorstep. For Merlin's sake!" he exclaimed. "They kept me in a cupboard until I was eleven years old. I can't go back there without my magic - without any means of protecting myself."

"You are not a child any longer," Dumbledore said sternly, but inwardly he was shaken. The Dursley's had kept Harry in a cupboard? He knew that hadn't been as kind to the boy as they could have been but… Dumbledore mentally shook his head.

"I was never a child. You took away my childhood," Harry returned bitterly.

"The wards, Harry…"

"I don't care about the wards. I'm not going back. I can be just as miserable here as I was there."

"I've already contacted Petunia. The blood protection your mother gave you can be reactivated once again and…"

"As you said earlier, I'm an adult, Professor and I make my own decisions. You don't make them for me. The Dursleys don't want me back any more than I want to be there. I am not going back to Privet Drive and I will tell Ron and Hermione when I'm ready. Find me somewhere else to go. Put me under the Fidelius charm…anything."

"We don't want to force you…" Dumbledore said regretfully.

Harry felt the first spark of real fear. This wasn't good. It sounded as if a decision had already been made and probably one that he wouldn't like. "But you will if I don't agree."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. Excuse me, Professor," he said stiffly rising from his chair. "I find that I do not want to continue with this conversation any longer."

"Harry," Dumbledore said carefully. "Remember what happened to the Longbottoms."

Harry had taken several steps towards the door. He stopped moving but didn't turn around. "Oh, I remember what happened to Neville's parents. After the first disappearance of Voldemort, some of his Death Eaters including one Bellatrix Lestrange tortured the Longbottom's into insanity by using the Cruciatus Curse. But I didn't ever imagine that you would use them as a threat against me. This conversation is definitely over," he stated and flung open the door almost knocking over Ron and Hermione as he barrelled past them and charged up the stairs to his bedroom.

"Harry!"

But the boy ignored him. Hermione and Ron pulled themselves away from the wall they'd been knocked against and turned enquiring faces towards the headmaster. But Dumbledore raised his hand and shook his head, his face old and tired. "Leave him alone for now. He has a lot on his mind."

"What happened?"

"He didn't agree with a suggestion I made," Dumbledore said attempting to smile. "He'll see that I'm right in time."

"About what?" asked Hermione.

"If he wants to tell you…he will," said the headmaster sagely. "I need to get back to the school but I'll return tomorrow. Keep an eye on Harry for me, Miss Granger. It's a very dangerous time for him."

Ron scratched his head as the headmaster swept past him and descended the stairs. "What was that all about," he asked Hermione. "Why is it any more dangerous now than it's been in the past?"

"I don't know," she said. "But whatever it is – it looks as if we have to stop Harry from doing something foolish again."

Ron shrugged. "That's Harry. Life is always dangerous for him whether he wants it to be or not. We just follow him to keep him company and help him when he gets into trouble. That's what we do."

"But Dumbledore really doesn't want him doing anything reckless this time. I think he's really worried about Harry for some reason. More than he usually is."

"When has that ever stopped Harry before?" Ron said.

Hermione groaned. "Never."

Ron glanced at his watch. "The broomstick has just passed the Quaffle which must mean that Dobby will have some food ready for eating."

"Ron, can't you think past your stomach for once?"

"Course I can." He grinned. "But I think better on a full stomach."

Hermione shook her head with exasperation. "Ron, you are the absolute limit. We need to find out what's up with Harry. I don't like the way he's shutting us out. Ever since Ginny's betrothal he's pushed us further and further away."

Ron's brow darkened. "You're right Hermione. It wasn't our fault that Ginny became engaged to Malfoy. That was my bloody brother's fault. Percy always did have ideas above his station. You would think he was angling to become Minister for Magic or something."

Hermione's mouth opened into a perfect 'o' of realisation. "Why didn't I suspect that before," she murmured. "I think it's quite possible that he _is_ angling for such a position and with Malfoy money backing his rise to power…" She paused, her eyes narrowing. "Or at least, he thinks the Malfoys will back him if he does something for them."

Ron snorted. "Not bloody likely."

"Ronald…language," Hermione chastised primly.

"It's true," he said. "We're Blood Traitors, remember? We can't help Percy gain what the power that he wants. We don't have the money to move in the same wizarding circles that the Malfoys do.

"Do you want to?" asked Hermione. "Move in the same circles?"

"No." Ron scowled. "I don't like the company. Percy doesn't want to be Weasley poor. He's always been ambitious and looked down on Dad because he wasn't."

"Yes," Hermione said slowly. "I do remember… Percy used to read that book, 'Prefects who gained power', from cover to cover."

The tips of Ron's ears turned red with anger at the memory. "He was already making plans to leave his family behind…even then."

"Maybe. Percy made his choices and that's up to him. He's lost a lot. Still, it was wrong of him to use Ginny to further his career."

"Yeah!" Ron's face looked sombre. "He's also as mad as a Blast-Ended-Skrewt that the Twins have made a success of fake wands and fireworks. He wanted them to fail and they didn't. They now they have plenty of galleons." He glanced up the stairs. "Is Harry okay?"

Hermione sighed. "I don't know. He's gone through so much lately. I mean we all have but it always hits Harry much harder than anyone else. So much is expected of him and sometimes I don't think he knows which way to turn. We will have to do what Dumbledore says and help him as much as we can. It's for Harry's own good. I think he's trying to shut us out again. He does it every time something really serious happens."

"Harry really liked Ginny, didn't he," Ron said as if it had just occurred to him for the first time.

Hermione gave him a pitying look. "You do have the emotional range of a teaspoon, Ron. Yes, Harry liked Ginny. He _more_ than liked Ginny."

"Then why did he break up with her? I thought that once he did that, everything was all over and he didn't like her that way anymore – like I did with Lavender Brown back in school. I was glad to have all that nonsense out of the way. We could then get back to important things like playing Quidditch."

Hermione shook her head. Sometimes Ron just didn't think about the words that were coming out of his mouth. She had no desire to be reminded of Ron's nauseating displays of affection with Lavender. "Harry ended the relationship because he thought it might keep Ginny safer – which was silly, really." She held onto her patience. "He thought that if Ginny was still his girl friend, the Death Eaters would really target her."

"Didn't work, did it?" Ron muttered.

"No."

"I could have told him at the time that it wouldn't work…"

"Ron, you didn't want Ginny dating anyone. Okay, if it had to be someone, then Harry was the only one you approved of."

Ron scowled. "She's my little sister."

"Who is more than capable of defending herself," Hermione returned smartly.

"I'm not saying that she isn't. I've been at the mercy of her Bat Bogey Hex more times than I care to experience. You know that the Weasleys are considered to be Blood Traitors by You-know-who and his Death-Eating mates and you're a Muggle. Add to that, we're best friends with The-boy-who-lived. We have no chance."

"Don't talk like that Ron," Hermione snapped sharply.

"I think all of us are already targets. Mum's clock has had us all at mortal peril for months, if not years."

Hermione sighed again. She felt that she was doing it a lot recently.

"I wish we had some clue where Ginny was. Do you think there's anything we could do to find her? Mum must be worried sick."

Hermione wanted to say 'keep an eye on Harry' but decided not to. She was very confused about Harry's behaviour with regards to Ginny. At first she'd been convinced that Harry knew something about Ginny's disappearance but now she was rethinking that opinion. Harry appeared to be as distressed about the situation as the rest of them were. He was still searching through the Black library for anything that might help and he was always trawling the columns in the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler for possible sightings with an obsessive zeal. The bushy-haired witch put her hand on Ron's shoulder. "Dumbledore and the Order aren't saying much; although I'm pretty sure they're searching for her, too. And Bill and Fleur should be home in a couple of days."

"Yeah!" Ron was glad that his eldest brother would be returning home. Bill was intelligent and level headed. The family needed him with them. He would know what to do. "I wouldn't like to be in Percy's shoes when Bill gets hold of him."

"What can he do?" sighed Hermione. "I doubt Percy knows any more about Ginny's whereabouts than we do."

"Bill could speak to the goblins at Gringotts," Ron offered thoughtfully. "They might know if anyone's removed more gold than normal."

"That's a good idea, Ron," approved Hermione. "Although it's unlikely to do any good. The goblins never discuss account holders finances with others."

"True." Ron's face brightened. "They may know something about how to go about breaking magical contracts."

"They just might." Hermione clapped her hands. "We can tell Harry about that when he's stopped sulking about whatever Dumbledore said to him."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Harry retreated to the sanctuary of his room once more after his latest argument with the headmaster. He felt so alone again. "I should have left when Ginny did," he told himself. But he'd been waiting for Remus to return from the mission on which Dumbledore had sent him – hoping that the last Marauder would return in time. But he suspected that his time in Grimmauld Place had almost run out and rather than wait until it was too late – the best opportunity to leave would the first one he could engineer.

He swore and in a burst of misplaced energy kicked the wall hard. "Ow!" That had hurt. It had been a pointless endeavour. Kicking walls never did any good.

"_We don't want to force you,"_ Dumbledore had said.

"Sure you don't." Harry said and shuddered. There were many ways in the wizarding world of getting someone to do something they didn't want to. He didn't think that Dumbledore would Imperio him but there were charms that could be used to aid compliance. It didn't matter that it was against the rules; Harry suspected that Dumbledore was as prone to following rules as he was. This didn't reassure him at all.

The Confundus Charm or a well placed Obliviate could have Harry forgetting all about the wizarding world. A potion slipped into a drink or into one of his meals could render him unconscious and then Dumbledore could transfer him to Privet Drive. Constant vigilance was all very well but when you were as alone and confused as Harry was feeling, the future didn't look promising. He resolved to have Dobby check all his meals from now on. The image of him turning into a younger, just as paranoid, version of Mad-Eyed-Moody practising his own version of Constant Vigilance didn't make him happy.

His trunk lay at the end of his bed and he began to pull a basic selection of clothes from it. He didn't want to arouse the suspicion that he was planning to bolt and therefore wouldn't be able to carry very much. The trunk and the majority of his belongings would have to stay behind.

His gaze landed on a large marble basin with runic carvings around the edges. The pensieve that had once belonged to Sirius had been found by Dobby in the midst of one of his cleaning frenzies. Harry wanted it with him but it was going to be almost impossible to transport out of the house. If he could get it to Gringotts, the goblins might move it to his safe house for him. He moved around the bedroom opening drawers searching for the basic necessities he would need. Pulling at one of the drawers with unnecessary force saw it tumbling to the floor with a crash. Silver, gold and jewel encrusted trinkets spilled everywhere.

"Damn!" he muttered. This stuff was everywhere in the house and it had to be worth a fortune. He'd already had to stop Mundungus Fletcher from attempting to liberate some of the Black Family possessions onto the open market. If Harry wasn't going to be in the house for some time and the Order was still using the premises, Harry couldn't trust 'Dung' not to try to steal anything valuable he found. He had no use for them and they would be safer in a Gringotts vault. Harry's mind slowed down and then sped up again.

He now had a good excuse to visit the goblins. If he was to be banished from Grimmauld place it was his duty to see that these valuables were returned to the Black family vault. Perhaps he could take Hermione and Ron with him or better still Fred and George. No, probably it would ease Dumbledore's mind if he took Ron and Hermione. He could even play on the headmaster's sympathies, giving poor Harry a last trip to Diagon Alley before exiling him in the muggle world.

Harry gave a wry grin at the thought. Yes, he would insist that he couldn't trust valuable Black heirlooms to be safe in a place where a known thief had already been caught trying to get rid of his belongings. He found a plastic carrier bag emblazoned with the name of a well known muggle supermarket lying on the floor and scooped the trinkets inside with an impatient hand.

Harry then turned back to his trunk and dug around in the bottom for the unauthorised, untraceable portkeys the twins had given him. After a restless night, he awoke early and made his way down to the kitchen to find Dobby was setting the table for breakfast.

"Harry Potter, Sir," the elf said with a huge smile. "Your breakfast is ready."

"Thanks." Harry slid into his chair. "Dobby…" he said hesitantly.

"I's knowing what you need to do, Harry Potter," Dobby whispered sadly.

"You do?" Harry's mouth dropped open in surprise. If Dobby guessed, did that mean that others would, too? "How?"

"House elf magic is strong and sees things, we can. Dobby was knowing that Harry Potter's magic was sick. But it's not in my magic to sort," he admitted wistfully. "Dobby would do that for Harry Potter. He would help his magic get better if he could."

Harry was extremely moved. Dobby was a free elf but his loyalty to Harry's welfare exceeded anything he had seen before from any other house elf. Not even Barty Crouch's elf, Winky, had the same fierce spirit. "Thanks," he said softly. "Dobby, you know I can't take you with me."

The little house elf's shoulders drooped. "I's know."

"I need you to look after the house and make sure that Professor Lupin is looked after. I need you to do that because he doesn't always do it for himself. He's a good man and he's lost a lot over the years. What he becomes every month is not who he really is."

The elf eagerly bobbed his head up and down. "Dobby promises to do that for the wolf man. Kind to Dobby he is."

"Remus Lupin is amongst the best of wizards," said Harry. "Thank you, Dobby. Could you also watch over my owl, Hedwig? She's too distinctive to come with me. I hate to leave her but it's too dangerous. Hagrid bought her for my eleventh birthday. She's more than just my owl. Hedwig's my friend."

"Your owl also knows what you have to do. Clever, she is."

"I know." Harry pressed his lips together tightly trying to stem the emotion flooding him. This was it. He was really going to leave. He had to do it but he wasn't letting Dumbledore force him into it. He was doing it on his own terms.

Dobby clicked his fingers and a plate summoned itself from the dresser and within seconds was piled with Harry's favourite foodstuffs. "Eat, Harry Potter," the little elf instructed firmly. "You needs your strength."

"I'm coming back, Dobby," Harry insisted. "I won't be exiled forever."

The house elf's large bulbous eyes glistened with tears. "Of course you is coming back. But first you needs to go. You can't better here, Harry Potter. You need your Wheezy. Joined together you have. Your magic not gets better without your Wheezy."

Harry's brain froze. "What?"

Dobby looked worried. "I's sorry."

"Sorry about what? You have nothing to be sorry about, Dobby." Harry's brow wrinkled.

"Dobby wanted to help Harry Potter join with his Wheezy. If not, bad wizards take her away from Harry Potter forever. But Dobby failed." He picked up a wooden rolling pin and was about to hit himself with it when Harry grabbed it from him and shook his head warningly. "Dobby, you must never punish yourself again. You are a free elf." He put down the rolling pin and picked up his knife and fork. "Did you help us?"

"Dobby saw that Harry Potter's Wheezy was in trouble. Bad wizards not want her for good. Only to hurt Harry Potter and his Wheezy. House elfs not supposed to mix themselves in things like this."

Harry hid a sudden smile. Dobby had been interfering in the lives of wizards since the day he'd first met him. If Dobby had had his way, Harry would not have returned to Hogwarts after his first year. He was glad that he had – Ginny was alive as a result. He could never regret that.

The elf glanced towards the ceiling as footsteps were heard moving about upstairs. "I did not have to help. You did it by yourself. But I would have tried, Harry Potter. I could not let you lose your Wheezy to Dobby's former family."

"I did it myself?"

"Joined you are," Dobby insisted, as he summoned several more plates from the dresser with a flick of a long spindly finger. "Most powerful joining it is. Now eat."

"But…"

The door swung open and Hermione entered. Dobby immediately moved away from Harry and began supervising the bacon cooking on the stove.

"Good morning, Harry. Have you been up long?" she asked brightly.

"No," he answered, resisting the urge to examine the little white scar on the palm of his hand and instead, stabbed a piece of sausage with his fork. "Not long." He and Ginny were joined! What exactly did that mean?

"Miss Hermione." Dobby placed a heaped breakfast plate in front of the witch.

"Thank you," Hermione said. "I could easily have…"

"Just eat your breakfast," Harry murmured. "Spare us the S.P.E.W lecture at this time of the morning. None of it will work on Dobby and you know it. I'm paying him and he's happy. Is Ron awake?"

"I think so." Hermione blushed.

Harry rolled his eyes. He knew they were sleeping together but Hermione and Ron had to go through this whole charade of arriving for breakfast at different times. "Good," he said. "I need to go to Diagon Alley today."

"But Dumbledore said…" Hermione began.

"What _did_ the headmaster say?"

Hermione opened her mouth and then closed it.

"I need to go to Gringotts," Harry explained. "I have to be there in person. Stuff to sign," he muttered taking another bite of his sausage. "Some of it's to do with Grimmauld Place and only I can do that. I even have to take a test to prove that it's really me and not someone under the disguise of the Polyjuice Potion. Apparently, some of the magical enchantments on the building can change when a new heir succeeds to the property. I need to make sure everything's okay so that the Order can continue to use it for meetings. Sirius made sure that I inherited and not Narcissa Black but being on the run probably prevented him from making certain that everything was water tight."

"Oh…" Hermione chewed her food but Harry could see that she was thinking hard. She wasn't known as the smartest witch of her generation for nothing. "Good idea."

"The goblins suggested it," he said with a shrug. "Plus I came across some valuables last night. I don't want to risk Dung picking them up and trying to make money out of them. They're pretty hideous as they are but they could be broken up and sold that way. That is if you can get past the curses the Black Family probably placed upon them."

"Ron and I could take them to Gringotts for you, Harry," Hermione suggested.

"You could but you wouldn't be allowed in the Black Family vault and I do need to sign those papers."

"Oh. I suppose that's right." She arranged her fork and knife tidily on her empty plate. "I'll inform Dumbledore where we're going."

Harry smiled thinly. "You do that Hermione."

"Yes, I will," she said. "He'll probably arrange for Order Protection."

"I'm not going on a shopping spree, Hermione. Just Gringotts and then back here. As long as the Order member following me isn't Snape," he muttered.

Hermione shot him a disapproving look. "Professor Snape, Harry."

Harry stifled a groan at her attitude and finished his breakfast. Sometimes Hermione was so clever that she missed the point of the exercise. At least he hoped that she did. He couldn't risk her suspecting that he might disappear on her watch. Unknowingly his thought's echoed Ginny's only six days previously. His time had run out and he couldn't stay in the wizarding world any longer. Dumbledore was going to return him to his Muggle relatives whether he liked it or not and he could risk that happening. He wanted to leave on his own terms not on Dumbledore's. He would never willingly set foot in Privet Drive again.

The kitchen door swung open and a heavy eyed Ron slouched in. "Morning," he mumbled, seating himself next to Hermione and gave grunting a thanks to Dobby as the elf floated a hugely piled plate in front of him.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief as Ron attempted to inhale his breakfast. "I need to go and contact Dumbledore," she declared.

"Okay," Ron mouthed between bites.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	18. Chapter 18

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 18**

**Grimmauld Place**

"Hurry up, Ron," Hermione ordered, as she waited for her boyfriend to approach the fireplace, the marble pensive clutched awkwardly in his arms.

"Hold on Hermione," he moaned. "This thing weighs a ton. I can't see why Harry wanted to put this in the Black vault."

"I just did, that's all," Harry replied with a defensive air as he walked into the room.

Ron glared at his friend. Why had _he_ ended up carrying the thing? "It's a pensieve not a valuable, Harry. It should be out of the way in a cupboard."

"That pensieve is valuable, Ron," remarked Harry dryly. "It would cost a fortune to replace if it got stolen."

"You could put a lock on the cupboard," he argued matter-of-factly. "It's really heavy," complained the red headed wizard. "I can't imagine anyone wanting to steal this. _I_ can barely lift it. It should stay in the house."

"My vault in Gringotts is the only place I trust. I want it kept safe," Harry insisted. "It belonged to Sirius."

"But why place it in Gringotts?" Hermione asked. "Won't it be safe in this house?" Harry's answer to everything seemed to be that it had something to do with his dead godfather.

"I don't think so. There are too many wizards wandering though here, even if they are Order members." Harry paused for thought. "Look," he said suddenly, making a split-second decision to give Ron and Hermione some information. It could work in his favour. "I do have my reasons for placing the pensieve in my vault."

"What reasons?" Hermione asked curiously.

"They're good ones," he prevaricated. "Actually, I want to store some memories."

"But you don't need to put the pensieve in the vault. All you need is to store the memories."

"No. I want everything kept secret." Harry gave a heavy sigh. "I didn't want to have to tell you this yet, Hermione, but Dumbledore thinks I should go back to Privet Drive for a few weeks…maybe even months."

"What!" exclaimed Ron. "But those bloody Muggles were horrible."

"I know they were. I lived with them, remember?" Harry shook his head. "Dumbledore just doesn't understand."

Ron frowned. "I've never seen you study so hard. You work harder at the books these days than Hermione did for her NEWTS."

"Hardly," said Harry. "No one works that hard."

"You're still a major part of the war effort." Ron said.

"Of course I am but Dumbledore won't let me do anything constructive. He wants to keep me locked up like he did Sirius…" Harry's voice faltered as he whispered. "Outside people are dying."

Hermione's lips pressed together tightly. "If Dumbledore thinks that you should…" she began.

"Obviously, I don't want to go back there and they'll want me there even less," Harry grumbled. "My relatives won't be any enamoured of having a fully grown wizard under their roof than they were with the childish one. I shouldn't have to go back there now that I am of age – I'm not a child. But for some reason Dumbledore is insisting that I go. He keeps mentioning the fate Neville's parents – keeps treating me like a child."

Hermione had a knowing expression on her face. "Neville's parents were tortured into insanity, Harry."

"I know that," he returned irritably. "It would have been better for them, and for Neville, if they'd been killed. I sometimes think that my parents were the lucky ones."

"They were victims _after_ you destroyed Voldemort," she continued. "Don't you see that Dumbledore's watching out for you."

"And…" Harry fought to keep the cold smile from his face. She'd bought his story.

"Surely you've heard the rumours, Harry?" Hermione said with a frown.

"What rumours?"

"About You-know-who," answered Ron. "They're saying that he's gone."

"Dumbledore never…" Harry stopped, biting back what he was supposedly going to say and tried to look surprised. "For good?" he queried.

"Well, yes," snapped Hermione impatiently. "The Death Eaters are apparently acting very strangely – the known Death Eaters. Some may say that there's an element of panic about their latest movements."

"Like Malfoy," said Ron. "Offering for Ginny."

Hermione glared at Ron. She didn't think talking about Malfoy was a good idea in front of Harry. "It is being said that V…Voldemort's gone. Although, we still have to get rid of the Horcruxes."

"Then he's not gone," said Harry stubbornly.

Hermione hesitated for a moment and then her face fell. "Oh, I see…I suppose you're right, Harry. We haven't destroyed all the Horcruxes, so he's not really gone, has he?"

"If it's true that he has disappeared, it will only be a temporary state of affairs. Any Death Eater with a good Dark Arts collection of books probably has the knowledge to bring him back to life. If he's gone, Hermione, it won't be for long." Harry's eyes narrowed behind his black-framed spectacles. "How do you know he's gone? What proof do you have?"

"There was a report in the _Daily Prophet_ a couple of days ago. It was full of rumours and speculations – there was nothing concrete. No one's come out and reported it openly. I thought you might have known more about it," she said, watching his expression carefully.

"Why would I know more about it?" Harry groused. "No one tells me anything. A report in the _Daily Prophet_!" he snorted in disgust. "That's not proof."

"Excuse me, a moment. Forgotten my extra galleons." Hermione dashed out the door.

Harry grinned. He would be willing to bet that she was contacting the headmaster right this minute from the small grate in the library.

"Shouldn't you know if he's gone, Harry? You have old whatsisface inside your head," Ron remarked wearily, moving the bulky pensieve in his arms into a better position. "You said he'd been quiet."

"I can sometimes see what Voldemort does if he's experiencing particularly strong emotions like extreme anger or happiness. Neither of which are good. We are connected by my scar. I do not have him inside my head." Harry's voice began to rise."

"Okay mate," said Ron. "Keep your hair on."

"He has been quiet lately, I'll give you that. But I'll only believe Voldemort's gone when someone I trust tells me that officially. He can't be gone," Harry stated firmly. "Hermione's right. There's no way that all the Horcruxes could have been destroyed. We haven't found some of them to destroy them."

Hermione came back into the room breathing hard, her face flushed.

"Did you tell the Order where we were going?" Ron piped up.

"Of course," said Hermione. "I said that I was contacting the headmaster. Professor Dumbledore wasn't too happy about Harry leaving Grimmauld Place but I told him where we were going earlier." She looked a little guilty. "I just now told him why."

"You didn't just tell him what I'd told you about returning to Privet Drive, did you?" Harry asked anxiously. "I'm still hoping to avoid going back there if I can."

Hermione's face fell. "I did tell him, Harry. He asked why you were so anxious to go to Gringotts. I didn't know until you told me. I thought as he was the one insisting you go back to your Aunt's house that…"

"Don't tell him any more of my secrets again, Hermione," Harry bit out through clenched teeth. He had known she would do that. "How can I trust you if you continue to blab everything to Dumbledore? You didn't even wait for your ears to grow cold."

"Harry!" Ron's face reddened with anger. "How dare you speak to Hermione like that."

"I dare, Ron, because she's too ready to report to Dumbledore. I thought you were my friends not my spies."

But Hermione surprised him. She held up her hand stopping Ron from going into a rant and apologised to Harry. "I'm sorry. I didn't think."

"Sure," he muttered.

"I am sorry," she repeated her apology, her face red. She'd been wrong to go straight to inform the headmaster, although he'd been pleased with what she'd told him. Harry had trusted her with his secrets and she'd let him down. "Dumbledore said that we should keep him informed as much as possible. I didn't understand why you wanted to go to Gringotts so badly. It seemed like an unnecessary risk. Now I do."

Harry gave her a brief nod. "We'd better go. Dumbledore will be checking every minute until we return."

"Why would he do that?" Ron asked.

"Because he's Dumbledore and he likes to be in control."

"Harry, you're going to have to get over your issues with the headmaster," Hermione offered cautiously. "Of course he's going to organise protection for you. Yes, he's concerned for your well-being. It's understandable. He's got your best interests at heart."

"He wants me to defeat Voldemort permanently you mean," Harry snapped. "He's not on my list of favourite people right now." He swung a heavy looking rucksack on his back.

Ron gave the pack a curious look. "What have you got in there, Harry? Another pensieve?"

"Black family junk or, in other words, hideous valuables." He opened the bag and let them see inside. "Some of the stuff is horrible but as you can see, it's gold and silver and encrusted with precious stones. It's worth a fortune but I can't see anyone wanting to buy it and I'm not going to wear any of it. I think that would be stupid. One of the rings tried to spray poison in my face when I picked it up."

"I would suggest before anyone does anything with that little collection of items, Harry, you should get Bill to check them over when he gets back. He might be able to disable most of the curses. In fact, Bill would be very useful in that regard. A curse breaker's views on the contents could be invaluable. Grimmauld Place was after all, the home of a dark family."

"I know that." Harry sighed. Hermione had to state the obvious. "Dung has contacts, Hermione. He could break up the pieces and melt down the metals. He could sell it to an innocent party and seriously injure them. I don't care how horrible it is and I don't want or need it but I'm not leaving it around for Mundungus Fletcher to pilfer with Dumbledore's blessing. It belonged to Sirius."

_Sirius again! _

Hermione gave a nod and reached out her hand to grab some floo powder. Harry should have been counselled after the death of his godfather. She didn't think that Dumbledore had made many mistakes but leaving Harry to fester in Privet Drive with his uncaring relatives had been a major error. "Diagon Alley," she stated clearly. She guessed why Dumbledore had told her not to let Harry out her sight for longer than necessary. She wasn't considered to be the smartest witch of her generation for nothing. The spectre of the fate of Neville's parents hung over them all. Was he in that much danger if You-know-who had temporarily gone? Probably. Her friend would always need some form of protection.

Harry had yet to admit to either Ron or herself that the Dark Lord was no longer plaguing his thoughts and his dreams on a nightly basis. Did he still dream of the Dark Lord or was he finally finding relief from his nightmares. They hadn't heard him scream in the night since he'd been able to do an adequate silencing spell. Harry wasn't talking about the Dark Lord…to anyone.

Hermione stepped from the fireplace into a private room at the Leaky Cauldron. Dumbledore was taking no chances where Harry's safety was concerned. But her friend had been moody and unpredictable of late and did not seem to appreciate the steps being taken to ensure his safety.

The headmaster hadn't been happy about Harry's wish to leave Grimmauld Place today but the young wizard had insisted on going. He was being kept almost as closely confined as Sirius once had been and that hadn't ended well.

"I need to go to Gringotts. I have financial responsibilities," Harry had said firmly.

"What kind of financial responsibilities. The few galleons you pay Dobby shouldn't need you going to Gringotts every week," Ron muttered.

"The Dursleys," Harry mumbled. "I make sure they're okay."

"What!" Ron was horrified. "But Harry, they treated you worse than a House Elf. They didn't look as if they were short of money."

Harry ducked his head and examined his feet in great detail. "They put up with a lot. You know they don't like anything to do with magic but they still gave me a roof over my head and occasionally fed me enough. My mother would want to know that I'm doing the right thing."

Hermione had never been prouder of Harry and had said so. She'd not known then about the probable return to Privet Drive.

There still hadn't been any sign or word from Ginny. They still didn't know if she was alive or dead. The twins had been combing Diagon Alley and any possible haunt from the Malfoy's past without success. Hermione had managed to get the Twins to meet them for lunch at Grimmauld Place. Harry should be finished with the goblins by then.

The floo rumbled ominously and in a puff of soot Harry stumbled from the fireplace, closely followed by Ron, still clutching the pensieve.

"Let's get going chivvied Hermione. "The quicker we get there, the quicker we can return home."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Everything proceeded just as Harry had hoped. He was able to go off on his own in Gringotts, leaving Hermione and Ron to kick their heels in a private waiting room.

"Mr. Potter." Griphook appeared as soon as Harry approached the desk. "This way."

"Thank you," Harry replied politely. "Is there somewhere Ron and Hermione could wait for me until I've finished my business?"

"Of course." The goblin waved his hand at a large oak door. "Mr Weasley and Miss Granger may wait in here. I'll have refreshments sent in."

"Cool," said Ron, brightening at the mention of something to eat. He handed Harry the pensieve. "I would suggest a hover charm, Mate," he advised.

"I'll do that," said Harry briskly, his knees buckling slightly under the weight.

Ron grinned. "I told you, it's solid."

"That it is." He nodded at Hermione. "I'll be as quick as I can."

Harry turned and followed Griphook into his office. As soon as the door closed behind them, he placed the pensieve on Griphook's desk. "Ron's right. It's a solid piece of marble."

"What would you like us to do with the pensieve Mr Potter?"

"Could you transport it to the property in Scotland once it is finished for habitation?"

"That can be arranged. Work has begun on the property I am told."

"Do you know if…?" Harry stopped.

"Do we know the fate of the Weasley daughter?"

Harry nodded.

"No, I do not."

Harry's face fell.

"But do not worry, Mr Potter. The goblins know that she is still being searched for by those who wish you harm."

"Still being searched for… Then that means that she's probably still safe." Harry's face lit up into the first genuine smile he'd managed for weeks. They hadn't found her.

The goblin gave an abrupt nod. "Things are progressing well with the Scottish property, Mr Potter. It will be ready for habitation by the spring at the earliest."

Harry pulled a piece of crumpled parchment from his robes. This is a list of items I would like, along with the pensieve to be transferred there. I found them in one of my vaults. Some of it are pieces of furniture saved from my parent's home at Godric's Hollow. There's not much but…"

"Yes, Mr. Potter," the goblin smiled. "We understand that you want to have your things around you." He picked up a black eagle-feathered quill and made some notes on a stiff piece of parchment. "We have arranged for your finances to come into your Muggle bank account just as a salary would. You will have a regular income."

"That's good." Harry couldn't believe that the goblins were being so helpful. He'd never had his own things around him before. The Dursleys hadn't allowed him anything. "Why are you doing this for me?" he asked suddenly. "This is not adding to the wealth of the Goblin Nation."

"If you live to defeat the Dark Lord, Mr Potter, then you will allow the wealth of our nation to multiply without being in danger of being stolen by those who do not deserve it. If the Dark Lord wins then he will not leave us in peace despite our neutrality. He will want to control everything."

Harry nodded in understanding. "I've have one more request, Sir," he said politely. "Could you make sure that Remus Lupin has a monthly deposit of galleons into his account vault? Not so much that he's suspicious. Just in case he needs anything. He was my father's friend and my father and Sirius would want that done for him.

"Of course, Mr Potter."

Harry was then escorted from the office to the carts which carried him to his vaults, whereupon he collected what he thought he might need and changed it to Muggle currency when he returned to the main lobby.

Ron and Hermione walked towards him just as he was stowing the last of his money away. "Did you get all your papers signed?" asked Hermione.

"Yes."

"Good," she said. "I think we should return to Grimmauld Place now."

Harry nodded, his heart beating heavily inside his chest. "Yeah, let's go," he agreed, his fingers closing around the portkey hidden in the pocket of his robes.

Ron glanced warily at the stern-faced goblin guards as they left the building. "Do we have time for an ice-cream at Florian Fortescues?"

Hermione pursed her lips, her expression anxious. She'd been that way as soon as they had stepped out of the gloomy security of Grimmauld Place. She glanced across the street to see several empty tables outside the little café. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. I'm surprised that he's open."

"He's one of the few," murmured Harry. Diagon Alley was reaping the uncertain climate of the conflict with Voldemort and many of the wizarding establishments remained closed. "Surprisingly enough, Hermione," Harry said. "I agree with you. I don't think we should linger here. It's just not safe enough but I would like to give the man some business."

"We could get an ice-cream and take it with us," suggested Ron. "We don't need to sit outside advertising our presences to any dark wizards that care to stroll past."

"Well…" Hermione looked at the hopeful expression on Ron's face.

"Oh, go on, Hermione. We'll be really quick." Something caught his eye and he jerked his head to the side a couple of times. "Isn't that Tonks?" he hissed.

"Where?" Hermione tried to discreetly stare over Ron's shoulder.

"She just tripped over a pile of cauldrons outside the hardware store," Ron murmured quietly. "She's wearing a green robe…"

"Yes, it's Tonks. She's been with us since we arrived in Diagon Alley," Harry said with a shrug. He glanced around him and was unsurprised to see another Order member observing them - a pair of dark eyes glittered malevolently from the door to the apothecary's. "She's not the only one watching us." Harry gave a wry grin but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Snape's here, too."

"Harry…" Hermione's voice tailed off.

"He's not my professor now, Hermione. Oh…!" Harry's face darkened as he bit off a rude word. "That's all we need. "Stick close together and keep your hand on your wand."

"What!" Ron swivelled around sharply and blanched, his freckles standing out against his pale face. Just a few feet away from them, marching grim-faced towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions was Percy Weasley and with him were Lucius Malfoy, the Auror Dawlish and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Maybe they haven't seen us," whispered Hermione.

"And maybe Voldemort is nice to old Muggleborn ladies," Harry snapped.

"I don't think they have seen us," Ron exclaimed in an excited whisper. "Well, not yet they haven't but they soon will. We are currently standing right in the middle of Diagon Alley. I have no desire to have a conversation with Percy. I might just hex him instead." He looked at his friend. "Harry, have you got your Invisibility Cloak with you?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. I never go anywhere without it these days. Something about a Dark Lord and a prophecy and…"

"I think this might be a good time to put in on," the red head said urgently. "Now, before they _do_ see you."

Harry nodded and pulled the fine silvery cloak from a deep pocket inside his robes and threw it over his head. Suddenly, Harry could no longer be seen.

There was a flurry of activity as several wizards exited from Flourish and Blotts and headed towards Percy who was pacing backwards and forwards in front Madam Malkin's. The Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic glanced over at Florian Fortescue's, his gaze alighting with displeasure on Ron and Hermione.

"More Aurors," Hermione said.

Ron's face paled even further. "It's not just extra Aurors. That's Crabbe and Goyle's fathers with them. They're just Death-Eating thugs," he muttered. "I don't think they're any brighter than their sons are. Goyle could barely read." His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's Percy doing with those kinds of wizards?"

From underneath his invisibility cloak Harry could see the two hulking men and recognised their resemblance to the brutish Slytherin boys that had accompanied Draco Malfoy everywhere at Hogwarts. "Don't know," Harry said.

"I knew he was a prat but I didn't think he'd speak to Death Eaters like Crabbe and Goyle."

"He's pretty friendly with Malfoy," murmured Hermione with a worried glance at the group. "If I were to make a guess, they're protection for Lucius. Crabbe and Goyle junior shadowed Draco everywhere at school."

"But what are they doing now?" asked Ron.

"They must be trying to re-enact Ginny's disappearance," Hermione said slowly.

"Like Crimewatch," Harry muttered beneath his cloak.

"Like what?" asked Ron.

"Crimewatch," Hermione said with an exasperated sigh. "You won't know anything about it."

"Why won't I know anything about it?" Ron queried, hurt shining in his blue eyes. "Are you suggesting that I'm thick?"

Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, of course not. I don't expect you to know anything about this because it's a Muggle police programme. Police are similar to our Aurors."

"Oh." It clearly meant nothing to Ron. "I know what policemen are," he said.

Hermione began to explain "They, the_ police_, go back to the scene of a crime and they…"

"Ron! Hermione." The quiet voice came behind them unexpectedly.

Harry made sure that he was securely underneath his cloak, scarcely breathing lest he was discovered. He wouldn't be able to help his friends magically, but he had a good right hook.

"And Harry," the voice lowered. "I take it, Ron, that Harry is with you?"

With a sense of relief, Harry finally recognised the voice.

"Bill?" said Ron incredulously. "I wasn't expecting you until…" Ron moved thankfully to his eldest brother who threw an arm about him and hugged him tightly. "Merlin, Bill! I'm glad you're home. Yes, Harry's with us. He's under his cloak. Where's Fleur?"

Bill Weasley, dressed in a dark blue cloak, his long red hair caught into a ponytail smiled at the thought of his French, part-Veela wife. "She's safe at Headquarters. I went there to find you but you weren't there. Dobby said that you'd gone to Gringotts and as I needed to check in with the goblins…"

"Any news?" Bill asked Ron, his blue eyes tired, his face looking older than they'd ever seen it.

"No," said Ron. "Nothing. It's as if she never existed. She visited Mum at St. Mungos a couple of hours before she vanished. Tonks thinks that Ginny told Mum something important but that conveniently Mum can't remember it."

Harry's mouth tightened. "We know that Ginny existed and she was sold to the Malfoy's by…by…" His gaze grew dark and Percy must have sensed something because he turned and stared the little group.

Bill lifted his head and the gaze he levelled at Percy was one of pure loathing. "What are they doing?" he asked as a couple of the Aurors began performing a series of intricate wand movements.

"As I was saying earlier," Hermione said. "I think they're going over the scene of the crime, so to speak. That's where Ginny was last seen. They're looking for clues."

"Oh." Bill's blue eyes narrowed. "Are we being kept informed by the Ministry?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not really."

Ron snorted dismissively. "Percy isn't currently speaking to the family. He didn't tell us what he had planned for Ginny. She found out when the Malfoys arrived at The Burrow."

"I think Tonks and Shacklebolt have been keeping Dumbledore informed," Hermione murmured thoughtfully. "Now that you're home I would expect you, as the eldest son, to be notified of all developments. You are head of the family, after all."

Bill's mouth flattened and he gave a curt nod.

"I don't believe it, "Ron said incredulously. "Percy's coming over here."

And he was. Percy had glanced covertly at his two brothers several more times and had then must have come to some sort of decision. With a quick word into the ear of one of the Aurors accompanying him, he began making his way towards them.

"Harry I suggest you move out of grabbing range," Hermione hissed in a fierce undertone.

Reckoning that his bushy-haired friend was right, Harry began to edge further away from the group. As he did so, he could see Shacklebolt move closer to Lucius Malfoy. So Percy did have some self-preservation after all - unless Kingsley was doing this for the Order.

It suddenly occurred to Harry that this was an opportunity not to be wasted. The unregistered portkey would take him away from here and his fingers sought the object. The he began to think. It was a failing of his and he knew it that he often acted on instinct. It had kept him alive but it had also led him places he shouldn't have been. The magic of the portkey would eventually be traced. It was likely that the Twins would get into trouble if it was discovered that they had made the portkeys – although Harry would be very surprised if they were revealed as the culprits.

It was possible, he thought with amazement. It was actually possible. If he moved now, he could just walk out of the wizarding world underneath his Invisibility Cloak and no one would be any the wiser. He assessed the situation. All the wizards were watching intently as Percy advanced towards Bill. Nobody was remembering right now that Harry was hidden underneath his Invisibility Cloak.

"Bastard!" gritted Bill furiously, his wand appearing in his hand.

Ron moved behind his eldest brother his hand on his arm, ready to haul him back if necessary even though Bill was doing exactly what Ron wanted to do to Percy.

"William," returned Percy coldly. The two Aurors behind him shifted nervously.

"You had no right," Bill snapped. "No right at all. You sold Ginny to the Malfoys. You always were a self-righteous prig. But I didn't think that you'd go as far as to join the Dark Lord's services."

Percy stiffened, his wand flying into his hand. The Aurors behind him did the same. "How dare you!"

"I dare because you know the true loyalty of Lucius Malfoy and yet you continue to hope that their dirty money will put you into power. Not a hope, Percy. You don't have what it takes."

"I am the Undersecretary to…"

"We know," said Ron snidely. "And we're not impressed."

"Where's Potter," demanded Percy, looking around.

"Harry?" said Bill, looking confused. "I haven't seen him." Which was the truth.

"He's not here," said Hermione. "He's at home."

"Oh but he is," Percy asserted stiffly. "I spotted him standing with you when I first arrived and now, he has miraculously disappeared. But there were no apparitions or portkeys from this spot, so he still has to be here."

Harry fingered the portkey in his pocket again and drew his hand away. They could tell that he'd not apparated away? It was something to think about.

"He'll be under that Invisibility Cloak of his," Percy continued, his anger showing through every word he uttered. "Oh, I knew all about it. All through school he used it to break rules and Dumbledore let him get away with it."

"Harry was right about Voldemort and you were to wrong to believe Fudge," spat Ron aggressively. "Fudge fell from power because he was a fool."

"Harry Potter is dangerous, Ron. He encouraged you, Hermione and Ginny to follow him on various stupid escapades and on several occasions nearly got you all killed." Percy gave Hermione a look that said that she should have known better.

"Harry was right in the end, Percy," said Hermione. Some of the things Harry had done had been reckless but that was just his way. He'd never had a proper adult role model to look up to. The Dursleys had treated him appallingly and Sirius, after twelve years in Azkaban hadn't been fit to raise a troubled teenager. Harry went with his feelings and if he didn't do that then he wouldn't be the Harry they loved.

This forced return to the Dursleys would perhaps keep Harry safe but it would not facilitate a return to a trusting relationship between him and the headmaster. Hermione could see difficult battles ahead and that was without the Dark Lord being involved. Had Dumbledore really thought things through? He must have done. Hermione's belief in the headmaster up until now had been absolute but she couldn't help feeling some doubt.

"I know Harry Potter is here. I saw him." Percy was adamant.

"Mr. Potter needs to answer questions owing to the disappearance of Ginevra Molly Weasley," grunted one of the Aurors.

"He's already done that?" said Ron. "On several occasions. Aurors Tonks and Shacklebolt both questioned him more than once. They found him to be innocent of any wrong doing where my sister was concerned."

"She's my sister, too," Percy stated.

"Pity you didn't remember that when you sold her to the Malfoy's," Ron returned, his face reddening with anger. "Harry's worried about her."

Percy snorted disbelievingly. "He needs to be taken down a peg or two. Just because he's the Boy-Who lived…"

"I think someone else needs that more than Harry does," declared Ron loudly and furiously as he took a step closer to Percy.

"Ronald!" moaned Hermione. Percy was proud of his position and was quite set on showing up the family who'd never, in his opinion, supported him.

"I'll forget you said that," said Percy stiffly.

"He's right. You overstepped your authority. You are not the head of the family. I am," snarled Bill. "And it's not because I wanted the position. If the Ministry had been doing their jobs they might have prevented the Death Eater raid that got our father killed."

"You were out of the country," returned Percy, ignoring the words about his father, although the jibe hit home. "What were you doing?"

"Business," Bill snapped.

"Dumbledore's business?" Percy asked, his eyes gleaming with interest.

"_Gringott's_ business," snapped Bill. "I work for Gringotts, remember."

"Ginny will be found and then the marriage to Draco Malfoy will take place. She will be safe from the likes of Potter. If she doesn't return soon and fulfil the terms of the contract…" Percy smiled, leaving the threat hanging.

Bill could fill in the blanks, as could Ron and Hermione. The charms on the marriage contract could have all sorts of unpleasant consequences for Ginny. It was imperative that she be found. With a scream of rage the curse-breaker forgot he was a powerful wizard with a wand and launched himself at Percy, fists flying. "You did this…"

"No!" screamed Hermione. "Don't."

Harry took a deep breath and began to edge even further away from the group as Ron joined in. He wouldn't like to meet Bill Weasley in a duel, the man looked positively feral. It was time to go before the wands were remembered and then hexes went flying everywhere. He straightened and began walking without looking back. He passed both Snape and Tonks who had drawn their wands and were approaching the fight.

The confrontation didn't last long. Percy, his robes crumpled and ripped, rubbed at his split lip. Bill and Ron were both being held by Aurors who had finally stepped in to stop the conflict

"Well, well, well," said a drawling voice coldly. "If it isn't the brothers of my daughter-in-law to be behaving in a way that's frowned upon amongst the best wizarding families. But then the Weasleys never have mixed in the best circles."

"Lucius," said Bill, strangely formal, despite being held firmly between two Aurors. "I don't think you are the first example of a member from the best wizarding families that I would think of. Where is she? Where is my sister? What have you done with Ginny?"

"You think that I know where she is?" Malfoy sneered. "I am heading the search to locate and return my property. I want to know where you have spirited her off to."

"Ginny is not property," shouted Ron furiously, twitching in Kingsley's grasp.

"Ron, calm down," the dark-skinned Auror instructed in a low voice. "This is not helping."

"I wasn't the one who attacked Percy," Ron said, sending a half-glare, half-admiring glance at his eldest brother. "But I wanted to."

"Do you want to press charges, Undersecretary Weasley?" asked Dawlish.

"Let them go," snapped Percy. "It would hardly look good to see the head of the Weasley family up on charges of assaulting his own brother."

"You are not my brother," growled Bill. "A true Weasley would never have betrayed Ginny like that."

"Tell Harry Potter, I will see that he is brought to account for what he is guilty for against the wizarding world."

"I think it will be the other way around," Hermione said bravely.

"Let them go," Percy's face paled as he turned away. "Lucius! A word."

Lucius opened his mouth to say something; he was a Malfoy, not a half blood commoner. How dare the Blood traitor order him around. But Lucius wasn't stupid; the rest of the family were standing glaring at him. He decided against a complaint and swept grandly after Percy.

"I'm sorry," said Bill, hanging his head, blood congealing at the corner of his mouth. "I shouldn't have gone at him like I did but he made me so angry."

Hermione shook her head. "It's only a few days from the full moon. You can't help that your emotions are nearer the surface."

Bill had been attacked by a Werewolf during one of the battles between members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters a year or so earlier. He had not been bitten but had suffered scarring to his face. During the full moon, he did not transform like Remus Lupin did but he did feel an affinity for his brother wolves.

"We'd better get back to Grimmauld Place," said Bill. "You shouldn't be out here any longer. It's not safe."

"You and Ron need to get those cuts and bruises looked at. Your wife, Bill, is not going to be pleased with you."

"If she was here, Hermione," Bill said with a rakish grin. "my petite French flower would have smacked Percy first."

Ron moved to where Harry should be and called softly. "Harry, we're going back. Harry?"

There was no answer.

"Hermione, Harry's not answering." Ron looked at the witch in dismay.

"He's probably gone back to Grimmauld Place," Hermione suggested, hoping that she was right.

"Problems?" Nymphadora Tonks said casually as she walked past.

"We can't find Harry," whispered Ron. "He was under his Cloak."

"Yes, I saw him pull it over his head. He'll be around here somewhere," she said reassuringly. "Don't worry. There's been no Death Eaters grabbing at the air around you." She glanced across the alley and spotted Severus Snape. "Go back to headquarters and contact Dumbledore. Unless of course, Harry's there already. Which he probably is. Severus and I will do a sweep of Diagon Alley just in case."

But Harry Potter was nowhere to be found. Just like Ginny Weasley had done seven days earlier, Harry Potter vanished from the wizarding world.

17


	19. Chapter 19

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 19**

The sun was streaming in through the half-shut blinds. Ginny came gradually to wakefulness but tried to hold on to sleep for as long as she could. The dream had been a good one and she'd been safe and happy amongst her family. With a deep sigh, she squinted through her lashes. She wasn't in her own bed at home or even the one she used in Grimmauld Place. She was lying on the sofa in Harry's hideout, covered by her winter cloak. She gave a little wriggle and winced as every muscle in her body protested. Sleeping on the couch was never a good idea – even one as comfortable as this one was.

Suddenly eager to look around. Ginny opened her eyes fully and sat up. Last night, she'd been too tired and overwhelmed by what she had just done to truly take in her new situation. Her jaw dropped. This wasn't just some stop gap place. Her surroundings were airy, modern and luxurious.

And very Muggle.

Pulling off her cloak, she stood up and stared around her. The room was larger than she'd expected. The kitchen area was in one corner with a dining table close by. The large chocolate coloured sofa and squashy arm chairs spoke of chic expense and careless comfort. She knew that Harry had money and for the first time in his life could spend it on a home of his own choosing. This was still far more than she'd expected.

She stared at a grey rectangle attached to the wall, her brow furrowing. She wondered what the object was for several seconds - it wasn't a picture, nor was it a mirror, although the glossy surface showed her reflection and then she remembered that it must be a Muggle televisual.

Ginny wisely decided not to touch it.

In the daylight, the light switches she'd been unable to locate were clearly visible. Curious, even though it was unnecessary, she pressed one of the switches on the wall and was intrigued to see the light above her head illuminate. That was it?

It was as instantaneous and effective as a Lumos spell.

The urge to relieve herself made itself known once again to her brain. She'd found the bathroom last night but it had been in the dark. The white bathroom was tiled and gleaming containing a bath and a shower. Ginny moved closer and peered at the silver taps. It all seemed straightforward enough. A sudden longing for a cleansing shower swept through her but not in this place – this wasn't home. Carefully, she did what she had to do, located the flush mechanism and approached the sink. This wasn't so different from what she was used to…just newer and shinier.

She twisted one of the taps and held her hands underneath the flow of warm water. A sense of longing for the antique plumbing in the bathroom at The Burrow grabbed her. There was never enough hot water and her brothers always got in before her… Ginny closed her eyes and swallowed, pushing the images away as she shut off the tap and dried her hands on the towel hanging from a rail affixed to the wall. She had to stop thinking of home. This was home now.

Her feet moved her away from the bathroom and into the first, of what she later discovered to be, two bedrooms. It was about the size of her room at The Burrow and contained a bed, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe.

The second room was bigger than first – all done in neutral colours with the quilt on the bed smooth in its creamy perfection lacking the scorch marks from a Fred and George spell gone wrong. It was like something from a magazine - the kind of place where the Weasley family would never be at ease. It didn't seem to be real.

She walked towards the window and peered cautiously out, almost as if a wizard might fly past and find her. But she was in Muggle territory now and all she could see in the early morning light was the spire of a nearby church, boxy office blocks and various grey and red tiled roofs.

"I guess there won't be a Boggart in this wardrobe," she murmured aloud, eyeing the large wooden cupboard in the corner of the room. "Well, I hope there's not." Opening the wardrobe door, she noted with surprise that there were some clothes hanging. To her amazement she recognised them. They were last seen in her closet in The Burrow. How had Harry done it? He obviously meant this room to be hers. She retrieved her cloak from the living room and dropped it onto the bed.

The whole place was ready to inhabit – ready for her and Harry to live a new life.

Ginny avoided looking at her own reflection in the large free standing mirror in the corner of the room. She looked a mess but that didn't seem to be important right now. Her stomach gave a rumble of protestation. It seemed reasonable to assume that Harry had thought about food. He'd prepared everything else.

Returning to the main room intent on sourcing sustenance her gaze was caught by a pile of objects on the dining table. A large blue folder and a grey cardboard box sat innocently calling to her. She'd seen similar storage items when she'd once stayed with Hermione and her parents for a week.

A letter lay on top of the box. She picked it up and had it ripped open before she'd properly read the name written on the front. It didn't say Ginny Weasley.

_Jennifer Weston_

Who…? Then the sickle dropped. Ginny Weasley was to become Jennifer Weston. It was similar enough to remember, yet different enough to act as a new identity. The folder had her name on it; she thought that it might be a good idea to read it. A piece of paper dropped out of the envelope and floated gently to the floor.

_Ginny,_

_Read this and then destroy it. This is the last time you will see your name written in this way until its safe for us to do so. When that will be, Merlin knows._

_I hope to follow you as soon as I can. I'm planning a week longer at most but there can be no guarantees on that. Dumbledore and the Order are watching me very carefully. I wish I could say exactly when I can join you with more certainty._

_The folder and the box contain all the instruction booklets for every single piece of Muggle equipment in the flat along with some general information about life outside the wizarding world. Included too, are documents pertaining to your past life – fake birth certificate, school details and exam results, driving licence etc. The goblins have been most thorough on our behalf. You have your homework to do._

"Driving licence, exam results!" she exclaimed. They'd created her a past and hopefully provided her with a future. Ginny gave a watery chuckle. She could hear his voice saying everything as she read it. This was just so Harry. This was her guide to life as a Muggle.

_By now you will have taken a tour of the place and I hope, thrown your cloak across your bed. Next I suggest a cup of tea. The instructions on how to make a cup of tea Muggle style can be found on page one of the first folder. It's not so different from the wizarding way._

_The fridge has been stocked with as many easy to cook foods as possible._

_This is not going to be easy for either of us. Sit tight and wait for me. If I don't make it out, the goblins have promised to help you. Apparently, they have helped those they deem 'worthy' to escape the magical world before. It's not much of a back up plan but its better than nothing._

_Harry._

Ginny retrieved a handkerchief from up her sleeve and wiped her eyes. She felt better already and no longer so alone. What she would do if Harry failed to make his escape from the wizarding world never occurred to her.

Harry had always managed to save her.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Several lonely tension-filled days later, Ginny wasn't so sure that being alone in a Muggle flat was a good idea. She'd paced the dimensions of the property what felt like hundreds of times, wondering how she would escape if she had to. She'd read all the information Harry had left several times; she'd attempted to use the microwave once and had completely destroyed the dish used. The food had been a disaster – completely inedible and it had taken her many hours to clean the blackened tar like substance from the container. Thankfully, Molly Weasley had made her children clean regularly without using magic.

Ginny picked up her usual reading material and ensconced herself onto the sofa. She appreciated that Harry had given her a new identity and she had to learn all the facts about this woman's life. She couldn't risk making a mistake and giving away her true identity. Jenny Weston was becoming more real to her by the day.

She could hear a door slam somewhere in the building and flinched a little. The residents in this building were obviously professionals working in the city, possibly only living here during the week. It was quiet but occasionally she heard voices and music. It was difficult being on her own, knowing that she couldn't seek out companionship. She'd been a popular girl at school and as a member of the large Weasley family, had always had company at home. Ginny was scared and lonely and she wished that Harry would come. She was beginning to feel trapped. Was this how Sirius had felt? Was this what had made him react to Snape's taunts? Was this what had led him to his death?

She gave a groan and threw the booklet down on the floor, her hands clenching into fists. She needed fresh air. She wanted to be out flying on her broomstick over the fields around Ottery-St-Catchpole but she could not. She wanted to be with her mother. Ginny Weasley wanted a lot of things most of which she couldn't have. They would still be looking for her – waiting for her to slip up and contact her friends and family – watching everything they did. With a frightened shiver, she realised that the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix would search until they found her. She couldn't decide which was worse.

It all seemed too much to think about and with a sigh she shifted her position until she lay full length on the sofa. She hadn't slept at all well last night and with a heavy-eyed yawn she slipped into an uneasy doze.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Harry made his way through Diagon Alley as quickly as possible. Everyone looked like he did with their heads down, huddled into their robes intent on reaching their destinations as swiftly and as unobtrusively as possible. The return of Voldemort had fostered the air of grey unease seen in the wizarding world.

Harry gathered his Invisibility Cloak around him and pressed on. He wasn't even sure what the time was. He knew that he had only a couple of minutes at best before it was noticed that he was missing but thankfully he hadn't far to go. The Leaky Cauldron was almost empty as Harry slipped through it and out into Muggle London. Moving through the darkening streets, he slipped into a narrow lane and removed his Invisibility Cloak and pulled a hat over his messy black hair. The more normal disguise would be more effective away from Diagon Alley. Mad-Eye Moody and Dumbledore could see through Invisibility Cloaks.

There was a sudden bang and peering around the corner, Harry could see several people rush past the end of the street he'd turned into. They'd finally noticed that he wasn't in Diagon Alley any longer, he thought with dark amusement. By the time they found out that he couldn't apparate away he should be undercover. Moving from his hiding place he walked across the road and into a small general shop where he purchased a newspaper, a pint of milk and a loaf of bread. It seemed a very ordinary Muggle thing to do.

Trying to act as if this was something he did every day, Harry collected his change from the teenaged pierced and tattooed shop assistant before exiting the shop and crossing the road towards the building containing his new home.

The lift seemed to take ages to come and Harry had never felt as vulnerable before while he stood waiting for the doors to open. He could hear shouting and running feet from the streets and wondered if this was the wizarding world trying to find him or part of his fevered imagination.

There was a sudden click and the lift doors slid smoothly open. With a sigh of relief, Harry stepped inside and pressed the button indicating that he wanted to go to the top floor. The lift only took seconds, but to Harry it felt like an age before he was exiting at the correct floor.

With a deep breath to steady his nerves, Harry placed his key in the lock and opened the door. The room looked warm and welcoming but there was no sign of any occupant.

"Ginny!" he called softly. "Ginny!"

The sensation of a sharp object being placed under his chin made him stiffen.

"What do I have in the palm of my hand?" the voice hissed carefully.

"Apart from my heart?" he quipped, recognising her by the feel of the slender body pressed against him and the faint fragrance of her perfume.

"Potter," she said warningly.

"A small white scar. It's so faint that unless you know to look for it, it cannot be seen," he answered.

"When did I get it?" the voice was shaking.

"The day of your betrothal. I have a matching scar." Harry's heart was pounding in his chest. She was safe. "Ginny!" he whispered.

There was a clatter on the tiled floor as the young witch dropped her wand and threw herself into his arms. "Harry, oh, Harry," she babbled frantically. "I was beginning to think that you weren't coming."

"Of course I was coming. We're in this together," he said, his arms full of warm, vibrant redheaded witch. "Gin, I need to breathe."

"Sorry." She stepped away from him and stared at him properly. "You look tired, Harry but I'm glad to see you. I've never been so glad to see another person."

He grinned at her, relief on his face. "I'm glad to see you too, Ginny."

She threw her arms around him again revelling in his closeness and then tugged him towards the kitchen area, fussing around him in the manner of her mother. Pulling off his coat and placing his backpack beside the sofa before finally pushing him onto a chair. "Come on, I'll put the kettle on."

"Now who's sounding like a Muggle?" He handed over the pint of milk and the loaf. "I leave you for a few days on your own and look what happens."

"I can cope with a kettle, Potter," she muttered.

"I'm sure you can." She was bright and resourceful and he knew not to underestimate her in a fight.

"I did spend a couple of days with Hermione at her house once," Ginny said thoughtfully. "I remembered the kettle. On the other hand, the microwave I'm not convinced about. Or the washing machine or the hooter."

"Hooter?" For a moment Harry looked completely mystified.

"It cleans," Ginny explained carefully, as if she was talking to a not very bright three year old. "You put the…plug thing into the wall and it cleans."

"Hoover," Harry corrected with a smirk. "Vacuum cleaner."

"Whatever."

"You dropped your wand." Harry recalled hearing the clatter. She had to get out of the habit of carrying her wand. She might be tempted to use it. "Ginny…"

"It wasn't my wand," she admitted, a mischievous twinkle lighting up her brown eyes. "You told me not to use it. It's in its box in the drawer next to my bed."

Harry's gaze followed hers. On the floor was a single chopstick. "I would ask about the type of wood and the properties of the magical core but I suspect it would be a waste of time."

Ginny grinned, the relief of finally having Harry with her brightening her face into happiness. "It made you stop and think didn't it?"

"That it did."

"If you'd been a hostile wizard I would have had time to do something about it. Come," she said. "Sit."

He sat at the table and watched her gratefully, his eyes tired, as she bustled around the kitchen making a pot of tea.

"Drink this and then I suggest an early night." She pushed a large mug of steaming hot tea in his direction.

"I can't go to bed at…" Harry glanced at his watch, his eyes widening in horror. "Tea time."

"If you need to rest, you need to rest," she said briskly. She looked at her own watch. "Oh! It is a bit early. I suggest you have a nap. Harry you look tired. Are you hungry?"

He shook his head. "No, I should be but I'm not. Maybe in an hour or so I'll feel more like eating." He felt vaguely squeamish, his stomach unsettled as he thought of what lay ahead. "We need to talk."

"Of course we do but you're in no shape to do it right now. I felt exactly the same when I arrived – completely drained. Go and have a nap. I'll wake you in an hour and we can talk then." She watched as he finished his tea and then she ushered him through to his bedroom.

"We've done the right thing, haven't we, Ginny?" Harry asked.

She nodded. "I couldn't marry him, Harry. It would have killed me and you couldn't have survived without your magic. This is the only way."

Harry gave a brief nod. "Dumbledore wanted to send me back to Privet Drive. He knows that I couldn't defend myself in the wizarding world any longer."

This was news to Ginny. "So he would cut you off from everything you love and send you back to live with people who hate you?" she asked indignantly.

"Yes, but I suppose we're doing that to ourselves anyway. I couldn't exist without magic so going to stay with the Muggles was the only option. Why did it have to be the Dursley's?"

"We're doing it willingly and we have each other," Ginny said firmly. "It's enough for now." She crossed to him and kissed his cheek before leaving the room.

An hour later he awoke to the soft tapping on his bedroom door. "I've made us something to eat. Well…" Ginny gave a little shrug. "I assembled a selection of stuff from the frigerator."

"The what?" Harry asked sleepily.

"The frigerator," Ginny repeated.

Harry blinked. "Oh, the fridge."

She grinned. "My attempts at the micro-thingy have been less than successful. I hope you're going to be able to complete my crash course in Muggle Studies very quickly Mr. Potter."

"It's Peters," he said lamely. "Gary Peters. The goblins gave me a new identity, too. Learning about new appliances will just take a little time. We have time." He swung his legs to the floor and followed her to the main room.

Ginny had raided the fridge and laid a selection of items for them to eat without actually having to cook. "We'll need to go shopping, Harry. We're almost out of fresh stuff."

"I know," he said. "I asked the goblins to stock the fridge for at least ten days." But there's a couple of market stalls on one of the nearby streets at the weekend and the shop on the corner sells most staple items. We won't starve."

They sat opposite one another feeling a little like two small children playing house.

"When Sirius was on the run they put posters of him in the muggle police stations as well as in wizarding places," Harry said thoughtfully. "There were even adverts on the Muggle evening news about this dangerous escaped prisoner."

"But he was a criminal."

"He was innocent," Harry growled.

"Yes, I know that," said Ginny calmly. "But the Ministry and general wizarding public did not. We've done nothing wrong."

"That depends on your definition of 'nothing wrong'," Harry murmured. "You've run away to avoid a contractual marriage to a prominent Pureblood and I could be aiding you. That is against the law. I've already been questioned several times by Aurors."

"About me!" Ginny gasped.

"Yes. If Percy had been allowed to do what he wanted I would have been arrested and questioned under Veritaserum at the Ministry. He appears to think that I am personally the cause of all his problems and standing in the way of his meteoric rise to power."

Ginny's mouth tightened, anger flashing in her brown eyes. "Git!" she said.

"I was lucky in that Dumbledore and the Order did not want me to leave Grimmauld Place. Tonks and Kingsley questioned me there."

"Oh."

"The Ministry of Magic is still full of those loyal to Voldemort. Lucius Malfoy isn't exactly being carted off to Azkaban."

"No, he seems to be able to operate as he wants. How many times can he get away with supposedly being under the Imperius Curse?"

"Once too many as far as I'm concerned," Harry declared. "What I'm trying to say, Ginny. Is that we're still not safe. We need to do something about the way we look. We cannot stay in this room for the next few years or we'll go insane. We have to be able to live our lives the way we want to."

"But if they send out our pictures…" Ginny began.

"I don't want to change things too much. The closer you stick to the truth the better for us. I am still the Boy-who-lived and although Voldemort may have gone again. It's still temporary. He will return when his followers re-enact the ritual. The prophecy still states that I must destroy him."

"So Dumbledore and the Ministry will continue to be concerned with your whereabouts."

"Of course and yours." Harry's shoulders slumped. "No me no chance of destroying Voldemort. They will want to find us and lock me away. It will be for my own good."

Ginny sighed "What can we do?"

"Be very careful all the time." He stared at the pretty witch across from him. "Your hair, Ginny," he murmured stretching out his fingers and lightly tracing a curl. "I love the colour – it's like fire but it's too noticeable. We have to do something about it."

She reluctant nodded. "I know. Weasley red is distinctive. You bought me that brown hair dye but I obviously haven't used it. What about you?"

"The obvious would be my eyes and my scar. But people also know me for my messy black Potter hair. We need to stop people giving us that second look."

"What can we do about that?"

"Coloured contact lenses would remove my dependence on my glasses and change my eye colour? My scar could be covered up with makeup. I could try and grow some facial hair to blur the shape of my face."

Ginny gave a squeal of horror. "Not a beard, Harry Potter. I'm not kissing you with a beard."

"Kissing me!" He echoed, a strange look in his eyes. "You're planning on kissing me?"

Ginny blushed. "I thought…" she stopped.

"What did you think?" he asked quietly.

She lifted her chin and gazed at him with a certain amount of proud defiance. "That you still love me and we should never have parted."

"I…I…" Harry closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn't deny it – it was the truth. "I do love you, Ginny," he admitted. "I kept telling myself that I couldn't. It was far too dangerous. You've felt nothing that makes you want to seek out Draco?"

Ginny scowled. "Definitely not."

"The Order think that you should. They told me that your magic could be in danger."

"My…my magic!" her face paled.

Harry stretched his hand across the table and clasped Ginny's. "I think you're okay. Dobby told me that we are joined. He could see it."

"Joined?" Ginny echoed and then gave a little nod. "We did something when we gained our matching scars."

"You never touched the marriage parchment did you?"

"No."

"Then I think we're safe enough for now. I suspect that you're more likely to be contracted to me…" he chewed at his lip, uncertainty clouding his green eyes. "If that's alright with you?"

"I'm good with it," she returned carefully, her face flushing. "And the kissing?"

"We can work something out," he stated with an answering blush.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

A couple of weeks later, a young couple, arms entwined about one another, walked carefully past a dilapidated pub called the Leaky Cauldron as if they couldn't see it. The girl was small with a smooth cap of dark brown hair. Her boyfriend wore a hat over messy dark hair but every so often, he'd turn dark eyes to his surroundings.

"Can you see anyone familiar?" Ginny asked softly.

"Not so far but its early days yet," Harry whispered back. They'd walked around the area every day since he'd left the wizarding world. Harry wanted to know every alleyway and lane just in case he needed to. "I doubt they would be expecting us still to be in this area." He stiffened. "There are a couple of Aurors stationed in the window of that coffee shop next to the pub but it's no one we know."

"How can you tell?" Ginny resisted the urge to turn and stare.

"Moody's training. They think they're blending in." He grinned and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "They're not."

"Oh. Are they looking for us?"

He shook his head. "Not really. They'll have moved the search further away. That's what I'm hoping. We're hiding in plain sight and we're together."

"Yeah, no one would believe that we're so stupid. I bet Hogsmeade is crawling with a combination of Aurors and Death Eater spies," Ginny murmured with a nervous giggle. "Come on, let's go home."

"When are you starting your shift?"

"Two," she said. "I finish at six."

"I'll go to the college open day and pick up the brochures on those courses we could do and then I'll come and pick you up."

"I can make my own way home," Ginny argued. She'd acquired a waitressing job in a small café in the same street as their flat.

"I know you can," he assured her. Ginny hadn't needed a job; he could well afford to keep both of them without either of them needing to work but they needed an occupation. "It would make me happier to know that you're looked after."

Ginny shook her head. "Oh, alright. You're worse than my mum."

"No one's as bad as that, sweetheart," he said with a wry grin.

Her face clouded. "Do you think…?"

"I do. We have to believe that everyone's safe and well."

"And missing us."

"That too."

They turned and walked back they way they had come not noticing the small group exiting from the dilapidated pub.

"There's been no sign of Potter," said one. "It's most unlike him to lie so low. Albus is frantic."

"Albus wanted to send him back to those relatives of his," said a tired looking man with amber eyes.

"He would have hated that, Remus" said a young woman with pink hair. "And you know it. But I can't understand why he had to be sent back there if he hates it so much. He's a fully grown wizard."

"Dumbledore says that's the safest place for him," Moody said.

"Dumbledore's talking a load of…" Tonks bit off the word she was going to say.

"Dumbledore knows more than he's telling us," said Lupin thoughtfully. "I admire the headmaster very much but I don't think that he's treated Harry the way he should have. Does Harry know that Voldemort's gone again?"

Moody glanced behind him. "We'd better get out of the way. There are some Ministry lackeys about to have a wander around here."

"You can see through the door?" asked Tonks.

"I can see Percy Weasley's hair," grumbled the old Auror. "It's as bad as yours, Nymphadora."

"No it's not. Mine is pink."

"Pink!" snorted Moody. "What kind of hair colour is that?"

"I like it," Tonks retorted. "You know how effective it can be. They notice my hair, they don't necessarily see past the rest of me."

"Albus thinks that Harry was the one that banished the Dark Lord for the second time," Moody growled in an undertone.

"Harry did?" asked Remus, startled. "And he didn't tell anyone?"

"Maybe he didn't know," offered Tonks.

"Dumbledore definitely thinks that he knew," said Moody. "He also thinks that Potter knew where the Weasley girl went."

"That doesn't surprise me," said Remus. "He was devastated when she was betrothed to Malfoy and everyone sat back and let it happen. Harry looks after his friends."

"Kingsley and I had to interview him several times after she vanished," muttered Tonks. "I felt really sorry for the kid. Bloody shame, if you ask me. Hasn't he gone through enough?"

Remus sighed. "I still don't understand why Albus made arrangements for Harry to return to the Muggle world. With the Dark Lord gone he should be safer…"

Moody shook his head. "Dumbledore doesn't think so and do you know why?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"The Longbottoms," Moody said succinctly. "Bellatrix Lestrange tortured them into insanity _after_ he'd been sent packing that first time."

"That would explain part of it but Harry's a powerful fully adult wizard. He could stay at headquarters. Albus is hiding something."

"He wouldn't be who he was if he didn't," grumbled Moody. "But he's the only one old You-know-who was ever afraid of."

"I think You-know-who is afraid of Harry," said Tonks.

"You could be right, Dora," said Remus with a warm smile at the young witch. "Any sign of Harry or Ginny's magical signatures?"

Moody produced from the pocket of his coat a London A-Z and opened it. "No, he said, scanning the page in front of him. If he was ever here, he's long gone."

"I need a drink," said Tonks suddenly.

"Good idea," agreed Remus and turned to go back inside the Leaky Cauldron. The others took one look around and followed the werewolf back inside.

"Good morning Undersecretary Weasley," twittered Tonks brightly. "Any luck?"

Percy Weasley scowled at the Auror and even more so when he saw her companions. He'd come into the Leaky Cauldron to check and see if his Aurors had found anything yet. So far there was no sign of either his sister or Potter and for the first time he was becoming concerned. The magic involved in the parchment would surely have begun to take effect. Powerful spells had permeated the contract and Ginny was no match for the power of the Malfoy family.

Why couldn't his family see that he was in the right?

And now all these rumours were flooding the Ministry of Magic saying that Potter had destroyed the Dark Lord once again. Percy shook his head. It couldn't be true.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

15


	20. Chapter 20

The Unbreakable Vow

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 20**

Just over a year had passed since they'd made their escape from the wizarding world and in that time Harry and Ginny had changed from the scared teenagers betrayed by the world they loved so much into cautious young adults. They considered themselves extremely lucky – they were survivors after all.

Life in Muggle London had proved to be a success even though they'd had a couple of narrow escapes lately. On the very day of the anniversary of Harry's disappearance the area around the Leaky Cauldron and Charing Cross Road had suddenly became full of weirdly dressed strangers and new posters with grainy unrecognisable photographs were pasted everywhere they looked. It could have been worse. As expected, video footage purporting to be from close circuit cameras appeared on the news just after their disappearance, but Harry was sure they'd been taken from some wizarding photographs. The search had died down when a bigger news story had emerged.

It wasn't unexpected, but after a year of wandering within feet of the entrance to the wizarding world, the pair of young wizards had relaxed their vigilance a little. No one had found them. In Harry's opinion no one had even come close to finding them. Not until two weeks ago. 

Ginny had gone to work her usual shift in the small café near the flat where they lived, when the café door had opened and in had walked Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks and a tall broad man dressed in Muggle clothing. Making an educated guess, Ginny deduced that by his age, the man was probably the young Auror's father. She couldn't quite remember what the Metamorphmagus actually looked like when she wasn't playing with her appearance so it was difficult to tell if Tonks resembled either of her parents closely.

Ginny had frozen behind the serving counter, her panicking brain trying to think of a way of escaping the situation. With her heart pounding in her chest, she'd turned away as they sat at a table in the corner close, to where the frightened Ginny stood.

"What makes you think Harry is still in the area?" Tonks was speaking quietly but Ginny was close enough to hear as she crouched behind the counter pretending to search out more cups. She strained to hear Lupin's soft voice.

Remus shook his greying head. "I can't say."

"What do you mean 'you can't say'? Do you know where he is?" Tonks asked, her forehead creased with concern. The restrictions on werewolves had not been relaxed even with Fudge out of office and if Remus knew and hadn't told anyone, he was in big trouble. She was fond of the man – more than fond if the truth was known. "If you know where he is and the authorities found out…"

The werewolf held up his hands defensively. "I don't know why or how I think that Harry's still around but I do – it's just a feeling. It could be something to do with Moony's enhanced senses or it could just be wishful thinking. I hope he's alright. I don't think he was well when he left us and I'm worried about him."

"You think there was something wrong?"

Remus stared at the white plastic tabletop as if it provided the answers to what he sought. "Yes. I remember how he was after the death of Sirius and this was worse."

Tonks had looked worried. "Surely Dumbledore would have said…"

Remus shook his head. "Unlikely. There was certainly a dispute between them before he disappeared. I heard Harry shouting at him on more than one occasion in the weeks before he vanished. I couldn't discover why. It's possibly because the headmaster was still attempting to control Harry despite his attaining his majority. Albus gives very little away where Harry is concerned. He says that it's to keep him safe but…" He gave a heavy sigh. "Sometimes I wonder if he forgets about the boy. Harry is a boy."

"That's what Dumbledore does – thinks about the 'greater good' business. He moves us all around his giant magical chessboard," Tonks murmured matter-of-factly. "We should be used to it by now. We let him do it and Remus, Harry is not a child any longer. Harry is a fully grown wizard."

"Albus Dumbledore isn't always right, Dora, I may not be a very powerful wizard but even I can see that he does things to suit himself."

"I know." Tonks turned to her father. "I'm sorry, Dad. This was supposed to be our time together and we spend it talking over business matters."

"It's alright love," her father clapped her reassuringly on the shoulder. "It's not really business, is it? Not when such an important young man in the eyes of the wizarding world is still missing."

"It's been a whole year," Tonks murmured sadly. "A whole year."

"I never met young Harry but from what you've said, Remus, he has a good head on his shoulders."

The werewolf's eyes had flashed amber. "Yes, he does and sometimes he uses it. On this occasion, I'm not sure if he did, especially if he knows where Ginny Weasley is. Her brother Percy is still out for Harry's blood."

"Percy is a…" Tonks' hair changed from bubblegum-pink to red and back again as she bit off the word she wanted to say. "I hope they're together," she said. "It was clear to me from the time that I met him that Harry loved her and would look after her. He was distraught when she left. Molly's out of St. Mungo's but she's never picked up the way she should have. She's understandably frantic about her daughter."

"Your mother always says that Molly is a strong woman, Dora," Ted Tonks stated firmly.

"Didn't he know that we'd be worried about him?" Remus declared. "Didn't Harry realise we want to know that he's safe?"

"Of course he did," Tonks murmured. It wasn't the first time she'd heard this.

"But to leave without a word…" Remus clenched his fist. "Why? What made him run?"

It was too much hearing this. Without the magical trio spotting her, Ginny had immediately taken her long overdue break and had sat in the small back room shaking with nerves and forcing back tears. It had suddenly rammed it home to her that their friends and family missed them – that her great adventure was hurting the people she loved the most.

"The service in this place isn't very good," Ted muttered looking around him. "There was a girl standing behind the counter when we came in."

"Didn't notice," admitted Remus. "There's no sign of her now. Oh, here she is." He raised his hand. "Excuse me!" he said to the waitress. "I'll have a coffee…Dora?"

Ginny had sent the other waitress out to serve them and stayed out of sight until they had left the premises. The same thing had happened the following weekend, minus Ted Tonks. It had just been Remus and Nymphadora. The pair took a seat in the window gazing out at the passing weekend crowds.

As for Harry, he had narrowly avoided the Auror, Dawlish, as he'd gone shopping in the market that very same afternoon. But he didn't think that Dawlish was looking for him. If he was, the wizard wasn't expecting to find him. Instead of dying down and becoming more isolationist, the wizards were encroaching into more and more into Muggle territory even for something as mundane as fresh fruit from the weekend market. Luckily it was easy to spot most of them, dressed as they were in their robes or weird combinations of clothes that no Muggle would ever willingly put together. 

Harry made sure his hat was pulled firmly over his messy hair and made his way to the flat as quickly as he could. As he opened the main entrance door, he grabbed his mobile phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "I'm on my way up," he murmured as the lift doors opened. "See you in a minute."

"Harry…" Ginny stopped and shook her head as he almost immediately opened the front door.

"Hi there, Sweetheart," he said, his heart lifting at the sight of her. He elbowed the door shut and dumped the carrier bag filled with fruit and vegetables from the market onto the kitchen counter.

He gave her a searching glance. "You okay? You look a bit pale."

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed quietly as she placed the phone back in its cradle. Nearly being caught for the second time in as many weeks had unnerved her. She had seen wizarding folk in the streets around the Leaky Cauldron. She had to expect that and get used to it but none of the magical folk she'd seen had been so close to her and her family as had Remus and Tonks. "That was quick. Thank Merlin you're home."

"I was walking into the lift as I spoke to you." Harry frowned. He could sense the worry, pouring from her. "Were you seen?" he asked anxiously. It was the only thing that could have made her so nervous. He walked forwards and put his arms around her.

Ginny leaned against him. "No, I don't think so."

Harry gave a sigh of relief. If she'd been seen then they would have had to solve that problem. But they would have managed somehow. "Who was it?"

"Remus and Tonks. I nearly served Remus with a black coffee and a cinnamon pastry this afternoon. It's the second time in two weeks."

"Again?" Harry frowned. "Remus does seem to think that we're still around. He's not as blind or stupid as some other wizards of our acquaintance. It's not the first time I've had to dive behind a flower stall."

"You've seen him before?" Ginny's eyes were wide with surprise. "You didn't say."

"I didn't want to worry you," he admitted. "Remus often shops in the Third-Hand Bookstore next to the Leaky Cauldron and it's not just to save money on Muggle books." He pointed to a stack of leather bound tomes on the table. "They have some unusual reading material if you check the right shelf."

"Yes I know." They'd left the wizarding world with very little. Both knew they needed to keep up with their magical education but it was proving to be difficult to find the right books. "They were both in the café again, Harry! Remus and Tonks. That's getting far too close for my comfort."

"We have to be strong, Gin. Dean Thomas passed me not that long ago and I think I saw Justin Finch-Fletchley yesterday. They're both Muggleborn and would use this way of getting into Diagon Alley."

Ginny closed her eyes for a moment. "Thankfully, they're not too aware of the things around them…"

"They should be," Harry groused. "They were both in the DA. Awareness of your surroundings in a battle scenario…" he began to recite in a sing-song voice.

Ginny held up her hand to stop the declamation of rule six hundred and forty-two, paragraph B from the Auror's handbook. "But thankfully no Hermione."

"I don't think we could fool her, Ginny," he said with a sad smile. "I do miss her and Ron despite how annoying they were before we left. I don't think I dealt with them correctly either. I couldn't talk to them like I wanted to. Everything came out sounding wrong and I got so frustrated and angry…"

"It's difficult knowing how to react," the young witch said softly. "Especially when you feel that those you are closest to don't understand what you're going through. Why do you think there's been so much activity lately? I don't think I've seen so many Aurors around since the first few weeks after we left."

"It's been a year since we left. Perhaps they're celebrating the banishment of Voldemort once more by doing an extra search for us. Perhaps they think they have a lead on our whereabouts." 

Ginny's mouth formed an 'oh' of surprise. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Maybe Diagon Alley has run out of fresh fruit and vegetables."

"Unlikely," Ginny retorted.

Harry picked up the newspaper he'd bought the day before, the still photograph of a grinning politician on the front. "I should maybe try and see if I can get my hands on a _Daily Prophet_ but part of me wants to avoid knowing. There are new posters up outside the Leaky Cauldron."

"Of…of us?" Ginny looked scared.

"Yes," he gave a wry grin. "You can relax. I don't think they look anything like us."

She managed an answering smile. 

"Honestly," he said. "I've got those old spectacles on and my hair is much shorter. You can even see the scar and no Muggle photo could ever do you justice. You're too…too pretty." He looked at her, brown eyes warm against her creamy skin, her cloud of dark hair curling over her shoulders. Merlin, he missed her fiery hair but it was too distinctive so she'd dyed it a dark brown. "I think you're pretty," he murmured, his voice deepening. "In fact, I know that you're beautiful."

"Harry!" Ginny blushed.

"It's true." Harry's face matched the rosy colour of Ginny's. "These boys were eyeing you up in the canteen at college the other day." He found it difficult to be open about his feelings and had never considered himself to be good at speaking to girls but Ginny was different. He could tell her the truth and she would believe him.

She shook her head, a wry smile on her face. "Is that why you put your arm around me?"

"Yes. I was giving them a subtle message." He moved closer and put his arms around her. "The kind of message they would understand."

"Subtle!" she exclaimed. "That's not one of your talents, Harry Potter."

"I can do 'subtle'," he protested, swaggering. "Back off, she's mine," he declared, in the showy manner of an old Hollywood film star.

Ginny laughed. Their relationship had been awkward for the first few months of their cohabitation despite admitting that their strong feelings for each other remained. They were drawn to one another, they had no choice but to rely on each other but they hadn't returned to the youthful, passionate liaison they'd had at school. When they'd agreed to separate to ensure Ginny's safety, their feelings had entered a sort of deep freeze. Their awakening was taking time. Everything in their lives was now far more important than it had ever been and both were understandably cautious about committing themselves. 

Harry had said that he loved her and she believed him but they'd taken a step back from expressing that love in a physical way. He stayed in his bedroom and Ginny remained alone in hers. Molly and the Weasley boys would have been proud of them. Still things change and they'd begun to emotionally move forwards – it was after all, inevitable.

They both often contemplated the small white scar on the palm of their hand and wondered exactly what had happened. Harry's magic had been weak after Voldemort's spell but the instinctive urge to do something to help Ginny had produced a powerful effect. They had performed some type of old blood magic. So far it seemed to have kept them both safe.

As the months passed and they began adapting into their new lives as Muggles they once again took a step closer to one another. The touches became lingering, the once brief kisses longer and more involved. Harry, despite being brought up by the Dursley's and having almost no adult guidance in his life, had an old-fashioned view with where Ginny was concerned. But seeing others eyeing up his witch in predatory male fashion had awoken his hunting instincts. Ginny Weasley belonged to Harry Potter and he belonged to her. It was that simple.

"Ginny…" Harry pulled her against his body and bent her backwards before pulling her more firmly against him and kissing her.

"H…Harry?" Ginny managed, her senses going haywire. They'd kissed before but something had changed. The man she loved had come to some sort of decision and she liked it. She gathered herself together enough to say, "Harry Potter!"

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Kissing you properly, staking my claim," Harry declared.

"But what about all the wizards crawling around outside. They could be searching for us."

"What about them – they're outside. I don't think they know we're here, Ginny. I am not putting my life on hold any longer for anyone. What do you think?" Harry knew he was asking for more than his words would at first suggest and he knew his brilliant witch would completely understand.

Ginny smiled up at him. He may be reckless but he was hers and she agreed wholeheartedly with him. "That sounds like a good idea."

He lowered his head and kissed her again. This kiss started out gently but soon moved to a different plane altogether. The almost joking quality he'd adopted deteriorated as his feelings took over. Their problems wouldn't vanish but they knew that. Ginny wound her arms around his neck and surrendered to his kiss and he lifted her into his arms and bore her through to his bed. It was time.

And a couple of pieces of parchment, one locked in a desk in an elegant study and the other shoved in a drawer in a messy family room, began to fade.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Ginny curved herself against Harry. "That was…"

"Yes, it was," he said quietly. "I think we should get married."

"You do?" She turned her head to look at him. "Just because we did this?"

"No. Not at all." Harry was lying on his back staring at the ceiling. "We should have done this a long time ago. I love you," he said simply. "That's all there is to it. I love you and I'll always love you and we should be together."

Ginny dropped a kiss on his bare shoulder. "I know. I feel the same way about you. I should have jumped you ages ago. You would not have said 'no' if I'd tempted you enough."

"Ginny, I found it difficult enough to keep my hands off you at anytime. It's done wonders for my strength of character."

She chuckled; he could feel her body tremble lightly against him. "They tried to keep us apart and that should not have happened," Ginny whispered. "We love each other and that is the most important thing in the world."

"Then we should get married," Harry said firmly. "The house in Scotland is finished. I received a letter from the firm dealing with the building. We both finish our computing studies courses in a couple of weeks. It's time to move north. It would take us away from Diagon Alley."

"When exactly do you sit your driving test?" she asked.

Harry grinned. "Next week." He was finding driving as easy as flying. Ginny found the discipline more difficult but she'd not lived as a Muggle for the first eleven years of her life.

"If you pass, then we can move. I can continue to learn anywhere we go. But I do want to learn."

"Good idea. The house in Scotland is quite isolated if we don't drive. One of us has to be able to. We could do with one of those flying cars." His eyes gleamed green mischief.

"My father was so proud of it. I wonder what happened to that car."

"I think it's still wild in the Forbidden Forest." He chuckled at the memory. "Something else that saved my life." He turned to look into Ginny's eyes. "You saved my life," he told her, his face serious. "I don't know how being married will affect the contract…"

"I don't think that magic would let us be like this together if it was wrong," Ginny murmured. "I read all the articles on magical betrothals too, Harry."

"I agree. How can you break something that was never whole to begin with?" Harry turned towards Ginny, his eyes oddly veiled. "I wondered," he said slowly. 

Ginny could see he was nervous. "What, Harry?"

He stretched out his hand to the drawer in the bedside cabinet and retrieved something small. He looked down at his clenched fist. Carefully he held up his hand and opened his fist. Lying on his palm was a ring. "It was my mother's but I'd like you to have it…unless you'd rather have a new one."

"Your mother's…?" Her face flushed a delicate colour of pink.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Harry looked down at his feet. "But I would like you to have it."

"In what way?" Ginny asked. "As a present or as something more? You've given me so much already and I'm grateful."

"I don't want your gratitude," Harry said, his head jerking up, his face red. "I want…" His shoulders sagged and he sighed, the fire going out of him. "I love you." He'd gone very pale.

Ginny smiled tremulously. "I know."

"When two people love…" Harry stopped and took a deep breath of frustration. "I'm no good at this."

"Are you proposing, Harry?" Ginny thought that he might have been proposing earlier on but he'd never said the actual words. He'd said that he thought they should get married. He hadn't actually asked her. Every witch wanted her wizard to propose properly but this was Harry, and Ginny could see that he needed a bit of help.

Harry didn't look away. "Uh…yes." 

Ginny could see that his hand was shaking. "Oh…I wasn't sure."

"Oh." Harry took a deep breath. "I thought I made it clear earlier but I'm not romantic, Ginny. You know that I try my best but it doesn't always work. The flowers are wilted, or something else goes terribly wrong. I'm not a…" He cleared his throat. "I've a dark wizard out to kill me. I'm not perhaps the best catch in the world…"

"Ginny moved closer and tucked herself against him. "You are to me. I love you, too. I couldn't have…Malfoy."

"I know. Will you marry me, Ginny," Harry said quickly, screwing his eyes shut in case she rejected him.

Ginny turned and threw her arms around him. "Of course I'll marry you," she whispered, dropping a gentle kiss on his lips. "Did you ever for a moment think that I wouldn't? I thought that Dobby had told you that we were already joined?" She rubbed a finger over the little white scar in the centre of her palm.

Harry's face showed how relieved he was. "He did say that and I know it in my heart but I want legal proof…at least in the Muggle world I do. It could help us later on when we're able to return. We will return. My magic isn't lost to me forever. Malfoy won't touch you.

"Do I get my ring now?" She held out her left hand and wiggled her fingers.

Harry chuckled and slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. "Of course." She examined the emerald in its Victorian setting. He put his arm around her and kissed her softly. "I couldn't have managed to be free like this without you. The loss of my magic is one thing but to lose you…" He couldn't continue. Some things ran too deep to say but Ginny being Ginny, understood.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Things proceeded as they'd hoped they would. Harry passed his driving test and they both did well, if not spectacularly, in the courses that they'd undertaken. Doing too well brought unwelcome attention, which they didn't want. But they were pleased that they had both passed. It gave them something to show for themselves when they arrived at what would be their real home. They intended to look for jobs once they relocated to the house at Shielhill. Neither of them were used to being idle and for their own sakes, they wanted to live as normal a life as possible. 

The flat they would keep. It would be convenient for Diagon Alley and by being in London, would be a good investment for the future. The goblins had been right about that.

The house in Scotland was ready, they'd finished what they needed to do here apart from one more thing. They wanted to get married.

In London, there were churches on every corner. Some of them were still churches. Others had been turned into pubs or offices or even housing for executive types. But the one closest to the flat, a square - grey-bricked monstrosity with a round bell tower – was still a church. Harry found the atmosphere of the building peaceful inside and both he and Ginny had on occasions gone to one of the services. Neither of them were regular church goers. Harry wasn't even sure if witches or wizards were welcome in a church. But he knew it was somewhere they could get married.

He had applied for the marriage licence, filling it in as best he could using a quill and ink. He had thought it more appropriate to their magical heritage and had asked the minister if he would perform the ceremony.

"We're moving north, Reverend MacDonald," Harry said. "We've got a house and everything's ready for us to move in. Jenny and I would like you to marry us before we go. Neither of us has family and we just want a quiet wedding."

"Of course, Gary. Weddings are an expensive business and if you've got a house…" 

Harry grinned. "That's it exactly."

The minister smiled sympathetically at the young man. He guessed that they didn't have the money for a big blow out event. Privately he thought that the pair was a little young to be making such a serious commitment but if they only had one another, he could understand the need for companionship.

He invited them for tea and talked to both of them and found to his surprise, that they were quite level headed and knew that they would have to work at their marriage. They were under no illusions about how hard life could be. But what was more important in the old minister's eyes was that he could see how much the boy loved the young woman he was taking to wife and it was apparent that she was equally devoted to him.

"We would do anything for one another and we mean that," Harry had said.

Reverend MacDonald, his wife and a couple of church elders were the only witnesses as he married the young couple. The bride dressed in an almost Victorian style of gown in a deep blue velvet and the groom, in a smart suit and tie, had eyes only for one another.

"You may kiss the bride…"

Harry smiled and kissed his wife, relief on his face. Nothing had happened – no one had burst in and said that they could not marry. There had been no magical repercussions. They were legally bound to one another and he now had the right to protect her – or she had the right to protect him. Knowing Ginny and her fiery temper, anything was possible.

Ginny couldn't see how anyone in the wizarding world would discover their marriage but she was as paranoid as Harry was about their safety and they decided to leave London as soon as they could. They had nothing keeping them here any longer and Harry was eager to see what had been done to the house in Scotland. 

The original photographs of the property had shown a ruin but it was one with potential. The architects had been instructed only to convert part of the building for the time being. Harry had made the believable excuse that it was a monetary issue. It wasn't. He was the heir to both the Black and the Potter fortunes despite being raised as if he had nothing. Harry thought that he might want to add a wizarding wing to the house when his magic recovered. Poppy seemed to think that it would but that such a recovery would take time. He hoped that she was correct. 

He also wondered if he could do some work on the building himself. It would make it more like home. For him and Ginny, this place was going to be their real home and they were going to be together. They were going to be happy.

They had travelled up to Scotland by car, stopping once for an overnight stay at a motorway travel inn and then at various points for refreshments. It was a long way from London but they were eager to start the next part of their life.

"How long before we're there?" Ginny asked.

"Not long. I think – an hour or so. We need to head for Aviemore and then follow the signs for Elgin – after that, the route follows smaller, more minor roads. The house is fairly isolated – which is what we wanted. I suppose I could turn the sat nav volume back on again."

"Good idea," Ginny muttered. "You shouldn't have switched it off."

"We're in the right place," Harry argued, glancing at one of the road signs. "I've got us this far without mishap. It was annoying and I was managing fine without it." He turned a conciliatory smile towards his wife. "Your map reading is pretty good," he finally muttered.

Ginny gave him a suspicious glare.

"Turn right," the smooth female voice on the device instructed.

"Muggles," Ginny murmured sweetly with mock admiration as she relaxed back into her seat. "What will they think of next?"

Harry rolled his eyes.

An hour later, a tired Harry grinned at his wife. She was sound asleep, her lashes resting delicately on her cheeks. "Ginny," he murmured softly. "Ginny…"

"Wh…what!" Ginny opened her eyes. "I must have fallen asleep," she murmured sleepily.

"That you did."

Ginny blinked and then realised that the car was no longer moving. "We've arrived?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. Look."

Ginny peered out of the car window into the gloom of the rapidly descending darkness to see a house. A two storied cottage built of greyish stone nestled amidst a thicket of trees. At the approach of the car, the security lights were illuminated. "Oh," she said, a catch in her throat. "It's beautiful."

"We're home, Ginny," Harry said, his tired voice awash with the feelings he could not hide. "For the moment, we're safe."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

The little bookshop in the back wynds of the nearest large town to their home, was old and about to close down. The owner, a tired woman with grey hair tied back in a straggly bun, didn't care what she was selling anymore, just that it sold. She had two weeks to get shot of as much of her outdated, mouldering stock as she could. The rest would end up in the recycling bin and she would get nothing for it. Truth to be told, she didn't care any more as she'd never wanted the burden of the shop in the first place.

Harry couldn't recall seeing the bookshop before but presumed it had always been there. He'd been spending his lunch hour window shopping for a present for Ginny's twentieth birthday when something had drawn his gaze to the grubby shop front. He'd almost missed it, since the place didn't exactly look inviting. It reminded him of some of the shops in Knockturn Alley of all places, with their peeling paintwork and grime smeared windows. He was about to wander past it to the jewellery store, he knew was further along the lane, when a feeling he hadn't experienced for some time drew him inside. Not stopping to examine why he was feeling that way, Harry reacted on instinct and carefully pushed open the door.

He would never have admitted it to someone like Hermione but he liked old bookstores like these – the smell of the paper and the leather bindings added to the way the dust would dance in the light filtered from dark gloomy windows. For someone so noticed in the magical world, this kind of place made Harry feel anonymous.

The woman lifted her head and looked at him as the old-fashioned bell over the door gave a gentle jingle. "Good afternoon," she said with a vague smile. "Can I help you with anything in particular? What are you looking for? 

"I'm just browsing," he said with a polite nod in return. He glanced at a set of shelves behind him. They were empty.

"I'm packing up," the woman said with a sigh. "It's just not economical to run anymore. We close officially in two weeks. However, I expect that I'll have the place emptied out sooner than that."

"That's a shame," Harry murmured. "It looks as if it's been here a long time."

"It has. My great-grandfather started up the shop and it's been passed down through the family. I just can't compete with the prices on the internet and the big national chains. Please take what you want. I'm afraid that most of the good stuff has gone. You can give me a donation for what you take. A pound or two would do."

"I can't do that," Harry said, horrified. "They're worth much more than that."

"No, they're not," the owner said dryly. "Nobody wants them. I'd just have to pack them just to transport them to the dump. At least they'll do some good if they're recycled. There are several more boxes of books in the back room. I think that a couple of them belonged to my grandmother and she died over fifty years ago. She was an eccentric old woman - considered to be a bit strange in the head. She always scared me when I was brought to meet her – I seemed to be a disappointment to her without knowing why. She died when I was a child. This shop's been in the family for generations. I can't say that I ever wanted it." She gave him a genuine smile and shook her head in disbelief. "You're a good listener. I haven't spoken about the old witch for a long time."

"Witch!" Harry's heart seemed to slow down inside his chest, the steady thump heavy. Did she mean to come right out and say that her grandmother had been a witch? Did she recognise him? His heart returned to normal as his brain began working properly. She didn't mean it the way he'd thought she'd meant. Muggles often used the term in a derogatory fashion.

"She was a nasty piece of work. Always seemed to know what you were thinking. My father called her that to her face once."

"What did she do?"

"She just laughed. But she would have found a way to get back at him, so he maintained. She was petty like that. Even my mother, her own daughter, didn't have a lot of good things to say about her. I was eight when she died. We weren't close."

"Oh." Harry murmured. Suddenly he had a thought. What if her grandmother really had been a witch? It was more than likely; he could almost feel the magic in the place. Did that mean that his own magic was recovering? He squashed the urge to try out a spell. It had only been two years and Harry knew that it hadn't been long enough. This was too important to risk. "Could I have a look at the books?" he asked.

"Sure, I've never bothered. They can't be much use in this day and age. My mother packed them up when she died. I had ideas about unpacking all the books and trying to sell them but I got so many other that I couldn't sell. Frankly, I've had enough and when the refuse is collected on Friday; those boxes will be the first to go." She pointed towards a battered looking brown painted door. "They're through in the back room. Go ahead and take a look."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Harry moved forward and felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. He blinked in surprise. He could almost feel the magic in the room. It was the first time in a couple of years that he had felt anything like this. He moved closer past the boxes and stared at the fireplace. It was old, possibly Victorian or even earlier and something told him that it was still connected to the Floo network. He would swear on it. 

The house at Sheilhill had been built to Muggle specifications by Muggle builders from plans by Muggle architects, apart from the one wing which Harry hadn't yet converted from the original barn. He did have plans for it…eventually. It would have a fireplace with Floo connections, a potions lab, a duelling room and a library. He'd already started clearing the rubble and broken farm implements in his spare time. The wizarding part of his house would take time and to find a perfectly good Floo location close to his work when he hadn't expected one was a bonus. The Ministry had to have forgotten that this was still connected to the network. If the shop owner's grandmother had produced a line of Squibs, then no one would have accessed the wizarding world from this particular building in a long time.

He needed to get in touch with Poppy Pomfrey and he had to do it soon. It was highly probable that Ginny was pregnant. Harry's stomach gave a churn at the thought. Neither of them knew what happened with a wizarding baby. Was it the same as a Muggle pregnancy? He had to look after his family and going to a normal doctor could raise questions he and Ginny were unable to answer. Poppy was the only healer that he trusted not to betray them.

He needed to get to Hogwarts without anyone seeing him. He did have several emergency portkeys but he was reluctant to use them unless it was an actual 'emergency'. There were the strange magical phones that Fred and George had experimented with but Harry had found that they did not work very well at the time and he was reluctant to try using a magical item. They had been prototypes and he suspected that the twins would have already invented far superior models.

He picked up one of the books lying on the top of a battered old wooden crate. "..al Plants and Fungi…"

That sounded familiar. Harry blinked and stared at the title again. Part of the cover and also the spine where the title of the book might have been displayed was missing. He opened the book and swallowed, his suspicions confirmed. It was an ancient edition of the one he'd used in his Herbology class at Hogwarts, '_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' _by Phyllida Spore.

He returned to the front of the shop where the woman was wearily packing another box of books in what Harry would say were a reasonable condition. "Excuse me," he said hesitantly. "Do you know anything about these?"

"Those!" the lady shook her head. "No. I can't recall seeing them before but they might have come from the cupboard in the back room. My husband emptied that cupboard yesterday. I haven't had time to examine what he removed. Plants and Fungi," she murmured, reading over Harry's shoulder. Quickly, he placed his hand over the 'magical' part before she could see it.

"Ah," she said. "This must have belonged to my grandmother. This looks as if it's come from one of her boxes. Apparently, she worked as a sort of healing woman. She did homeopathic remedies before they became really popular for those who couldn't afford a doctor."

Harry wondered if the family still had connections to the magical world but didn't want to ask. He opened the book at a page showing a delicate ink drawing of a Borage flower. "My wife would be interested in these. I'll understand if they're family heirlooms and you don't want to sell them."

"Good grief, no," the woman said with a chuckle. "Those books will have been there since my grandmother died. I'm surprised they weren't thrown away years ago."

"Wonderful," Harry said with a grin. "I'll take the box. We love looking through old books like these" He picked up the box, spotting a copy of '_Most Potente Potions_' as he did so. "How much?"

"Give me a fiver," she said. "I told you, it's helping me get rid of them."

Harry fished in his pocket and pulled out a ten pound note. "Here, take this. Some of these could be valuable. I can give you more, if you want?"

"No, that's fine. They're no use to me." She placed the note in the till and handed Harry a receipt.

"I'd better get back to work," Harry said with a grin. "Thanks."

Magical books. He had a box of magical books. Alright, they might be ancient but most of the books in the Hogwarts' library had been ancient. He and Ginny would enjoy looking at these, even if they couldn't do the magic – well, Ginny could but she didn't want to just in case it flagged up their hiding place. They hadn't been able to take any magical books with them into their Muggle life.

Ginny hadn't been able to complete her final year at Hogwarts but she could still read and learn. She could take all the NEWTS she wanted to at the Ministry when they could return without fear of being married to someone they hated or shut up in a house where there was no love or caring involved.

Harry nipped quickly to where he had parked his car and deposited the box in the boot before walking to his work. He'd got a job at one of the local banks as a trainee not long after he and Ginny had moved north. It wasn't the most exciting of positions but the pay was good enough and the hours were reasonable. He also knew that it was the last place anyone would think to look for Harry Potter. 

Even Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would be impressed with the normality involved in his daily life.

Ginny had decided to go back to college and had taken several different courses in a bid to decide what she truly wanted to do. She had also passed her driving test and was coping well with Muggle life, working part time as an auxiliary in a local school. Occasionally something got away from her but she passed it off as having had very strict parents as a child and being home schooled. Her acquaintances would ask her what it was like being home schooled and she had said shortly that it had been lonely. When she didn't add anything else to her statement, they soon lost interest.

Life was busy and they were happy but they missed their friends and their family. They were reluctant to get to know people at work or college and relied mainly on one another - even more so now that they suspected that Ginny was pregnant. But no one can live in a vacuum and the couple occasionally met up with work colleagues.

"Hey, Sweetheart!" Harry greeted Ginny with a smile as he wandered into the kitchen. "Ginny?" He placed the box of magic books down on the floor.

His witch just sat there, staring into space.

"Ginny!" He said anxiously. "What is it?"

She gave a little start of surprise and he noticed that her eyes were red and tired.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked worriedly. Maybe, she wasn't pregnant and Harry found that he didn't want that to be true. He wanted her to be pregnant. "You've been crying."

"I haven't," she said defiantly.

Harry just gave her a look.

She flushed and looked away. "Okay, so I have…but just a bit. I feel weepy," she muttered. "I hate feeling weepy."

Harry stifled his smile. His feisty witch hated feeling vulnerable. Her forced betrothal to Draco Malfoy had brought home to her how powerless she'd been and she never wanted to feel that way again. He never wanted her to feel that way – ever. "Oh, Ginny-love…"

She scowled. "Say anything tactless and I swear that despite the no-magic rule we live under I'll Bat-bogey-hex you into oblivion."

Harry held up his hands. "I wouldn't dare suggest that because your eyes are all red that you'd been crying."

"Gary," she said warningly and he grinned, despite the tinge of worry that swept through him. They always called one another by their real names in the house, to have her use his Muggle identity was enough to make him take notice.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "But you looked upset and were miles away from here. I don't like seeing you upset, Ginny-love."

"I'm just tired," she shifted her eyes away from his and stared at the well scrubbed kitchen table. "Getting ready for the start of term and all that entails."

"Ginny…" Harry drawled. "He thought he knew what the problem was now but would wait until she told him.

"I'm just tired." She gave the excuse half-heartedly.

"You said that already. I can see that you're tired. What can I do to help?"

A smile ghosted around her lips. "I love you."

The feeling is mutual." Harry boiled the kettle and made his wife a cup of herbal tea. Placing the mug in front of her, he watched as her hands surrounded the warmth and she seemed to lose some of the tension permeating her slender frame. "Tell me," he insisted gently. "The problem won't go away if you keep it all to yourself."

He knew her so well, she thought. "I'm definitely pregnant," she murmured. 

"Yes!" Harry clenched his fist, grinning broadly, an unexpected feeling of male superiority flooding through him. "I'm going to be a Dad."

"Oh, stop smirking," Ginny snapped and then shook her head in sudden amused defeat, unwilling to let her mood carry on any longer. "We didn't plan this. I assume I'm in this condition because Muggle contraception methods don't work very well on witches and wizards."

"Ginny, I'm delighted and I don't care if the muggle contraception methods failed. I don't how effective they are on witches and wizards." He pulled her up out of her chair, sat down and placed her upon his knee. "Honestly," he said. "I'm over the moon. You know how much I've wanted a family of my own. We've been married for well over a year and I would have waited for longer but fate has granted us this. No system of contraception is foolproof. At least that was what we were told during Sex Ed in my primary school. Not that I can remember much more than how embarrassed I felt. We had to go near a girl! They were creatures of a whole other species to me back then." He pulled her closer. "You always suspected that you could be as fertile as your mother."

"I did – it's always been a worry of mine. She was pregnant with Bill before the honeymoon ended, according to him, and then it was one baby after another. I like children and I want more than one child, Harry, but I don't want seven."

"We'll have as many as you want, Ginny. I don't think I want a quidditch team either. I just want to have a child or two with you – only you." Harry looked a little apprehensive. "That's not the problem, is it? You do want this one, don't you?" It was a reasonable question. She was nineteen - twenty in a couple of days time and he was sure she'd planned to do all sorts of things with her life that didn't need to be slowed down by a husband and a baby. 

Ginny looked horrified. "Of course, I do, Harry." Her fierce gaze softened. "A baby? Your baby? Of course I want it." She gripped her mug so tightly that Harry thought she might break it and he eased her fingers away, threading his own through hers. "Harry, I've started doing accidental magic and I can't control it or I don't think I can."

"Accidental magic!" Harry's eyes widened. He didn't have very good memories of his own bouts growing up.

"I don't know much about magical pregnancies, Harry. Hogwarts didn't cover things like that apart from teaching you the relevant spells to prevent them."

"Well, I know even less than you." Harry frowned. "What do you mean 'accidental magic'? You didn't blow up anyone or end up on the roof of the school?" He thought of his Aunt Marge and one of his many escapes from his cousin Dudley.

"I went into school today to speak to the head teacher about the children I would probably be working specifically with this year. Term starts next week and it's good to know what I'm doing." She sipped at her tea, letting the warmth seep through her. "I nipped into the staff room and, while I was there, levitated a cup towards me," Ginny said quietly. "It smashed on the floor."

Harry stiffened. It wasn't a major magical catastrophe but in their current situation it could have serious repercussions. "Did anyone see?"

"No, I was alone at the time. I felt a little bit strange – a kind of sick feeling. I thought a drink of water would help. The cupboard door flew open and the cup shot towards me. I just managed to catch it."

His arms tightened around her. "You're feeling alright now?"

"A little strange," she admitted. "But that's maybe because I was confirming in my own mind that I was actually pregnant."

"So, you're not upset?"

"No and yes." She grinned. "Do you understand that one?"

Harry returned her smile. "Hardly."

"It's confusing. I'm happy that we're going to have a baby but upset that my Dad isn't around to share the news with us. He would have been overjoyed."

"I know."

"And Mum…" Ginny's lip trembled. "I miss her so much. I wonder how she's keeping – if she's fully recovered from…"

Harry tightened his arms around her comfortingly. "Did your mother ever mention anything about her own pregnancies?"

"Just that a witch's magic could be unpredictable during pregnancy and that I should wait until I met and married the right wizard before even thinking about it."

"You have married the right wizard. It could be a one off," Harry said hopefully.

She shook her head. "No, I was hoping that, too. Look."

Harry hadn't noticed up until then, the remains of a plate lying on one of the worktop. "You decided that you wanted something to eat and the plate whizzed out of the cupboard."

"Yes, something like that. What if someone in the Ministry picks up on this?" Ginny's voice was anxious. "When exactly does a baby's name go on the register for Hogwarts?"

Harry's mouth opened and closed. He sat in silence for a moment before saying quietly. "I don't know. I hadn't considered that one. Hagrid told my Aunt and Uncle that my name had been down to go to Hogwarts since I was born." Harry looked troubled. "I think we should try and contact someone. We should go and get a Muggle doctor to check you over."

"It's too dangerous," Ginny protested. "Especially with the baby coming. If I'm performing accidental magic when I'm only just pregnant - what's going to happen when I'm ready to give birth?"

"I don't know what will happen." He hadn't thought of this. "I would rather you saw a healer as soon as possible and if a Muggle one isn't an option..." He pursed his lips. "I think I might manage to contact Poppy."

Ginny's eyes were wide and scared. Harry had told her how Poppy had been a true friend but as the Hogwarts Mediwitch she was situated too close to Dumbledore and the Order. Ginny was as unhappy with the headmaster as Harry was. "How?"

"I think I've found an active but forgotten Floo connection."

Ginny's brown eyes narrowed. "What have you been up to Harry James Potter?"

"Nothing," he said quickly.

"Harry!"

He placed his hands on her waist and lifted her off his knee. "I went to a tiny bookstore in town today and found this box of books. I must admit that it was a bit of a surprise." Ginny sat down again as Harry lifted the box of books onto the table. "Go on, have a look?"

"Magic books?" Ginny's face lost the little bit of colour it had.

"We're fine. The owner didn't know what she had. She's selling up, closing down the shop. She was going to throw them away."

"And she had magic books! Harry!" Ginny's voice rose. "Harry! What were you thinking?"

"I…wasn't," he muttered. "I don't think there's any danger in this instance."

"But we've been so careful," Ginny retorted.

"We're still being careful," Harry soothed. "I think her grandmother was a witch but she's obviously not inherited the talent – a second generation Squib with absolutely no idea of the family history. She'd never even looked at what was in the box."

"How did you find out that the box contained magical books?"

"For the first time in two years I sensed something magical." Ginny could hear the satisfaction in his voice.

"Oh, Harry…that's…"

"I'm not thinking that I'm ready to do magic, Gin, I'm not but in a year or two I could be." He gave a little shrug of his shoulders. "Something drew me to them and then I picked up a copy of '_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' _by Phyllida Spore."

Ginny began digging through the box. "There are a lot of Herbology texts in here. Most of these haven't been used as part of the Hogwarts' curriculum for years. Hermione was interested to find out and I remember she had a whole heap of them piled round her one evening in the library." She pulled out the copy of '_Most Potente Potions_'. "Goodness!"

Harry nodded. "I think that the granny was considered to be quite a healer but a bit scary to a small child. If she was dealing with that particular book then she could have been very scary."

"A wise woman," Ginny said thoughtfully, as she continued to scan through the volumes in the box. "They looked after Muggles as well as wizarding folk. The Muggles would just think that she was a bit odd."

"Any on pregnancy?"

Ginny shook her head. "Not that I've spotted so far but I've just had a brief glance. There may be something on healing in one of these volumes."

"I bought you a Muggle pregnancy testing kit."

"I bought myself one yesterday and tried it out this morning after you'd gone to work," Ginny said with a wry smile. "I used it today after you had left for work. It said that I was pregnant."

"I wondered if it would work on a witch."

"I'm not just a witch. I'm a woman, too. I followed the directions and it gave me a positive result."

Harry's face lit up with a huge smile. "I'm going to be a Dad," he said again. "We're a family – the Potters."

Ginny shook her head but couldn't hide her smile. His happiness was almost tangible and so infectious. He really was pleased and now that she was cut off from her own family, Ginny understood why. Harry finally had someone of his own to love and protect with her and the baby "Oh, you…"

Harry opened the fridge and began assembling things for their evening meal. "I'm going to try and see Poppy."

"I think it's too risky." Ginny got up and began setting the table.

"I'm not endangering your health and that of our baby," Harry declared. "You need to see a doctor or a healer."

"Maybe nothing will happen and I'm overreacting." Ginny tried to back down. She shouldn't have said anything. Harry worried about everything – especially her. Now he had the perfect excuse.

"No," he said with a sigh. "You need a proper examination. This will be a child produced by you and me. It will have a combination of both our troublesome genes." He groaned. "This kid is doomed."

"Stop using Divination on my son," Ginny said sternly. "There are no latent Seer characteristics in the Potter or Weasley families.

"Nope, I haven't taken to smelling of cooking sherry and covering myself in shawls," Harry said with a smile. "None of my predictions ever came true." 

"That's because you and Ron invented them and they grew more ridiculous every time."

"Yeah, I predicted my own death every week in the most stupid ways imaginable. We might not have a son. She could have a daughter."

"It's a boy," Ginny declared. "I just know it."

"At the moment it's a blob," he retorted.

"Then it's a boy blob," she shot back. Ginny pouted. "How could you call our son a blob?"

Harry heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. He'll be the most handsome blob ever. Listen, the school isn't back yet. Poppy should be setting up for the new term. There's no risk of running into other students - not until September the first."

"No, just Dumbledore and Snape." Ginny crossed her arms in front of her. "They're the most dangerous."

"Snape will be busy brewing potions and antidotes at this time of year. He'll be in his lab in the dungeons. Dumbledore is always a problem. He always knows what happens in the castle."

"What about the rest of the staff?"

"They would probably tell the headmaster. It's a risk we have to take. I have to make sure that you will be okay. I've got my invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map. It should help me avoid the enemy and locate Poppy."

Ginny gave a reluctant nod. She had to admit that she was worried. Chances were, everything was fine but if something did go wrong… "When are you going to go?"

"Tomorrow."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"No," he gave a wry smile. "If I'm honest, I don't think there is a particularly good time to go but I think the sooner the better. However, as I said – it's still the school holidays. If I pick a time before lunch, there's a chance that Poppy may be working alone in the infirmary – even on a Saturday."

"How are you going to get there?"

"By Floo. The bookstore has the active Floo that I told you about. We'll go to Elgin tomorrow. I need you to distract the owner and possibly any other customers so that I can nip through the Floo."

"What about Floo powder?"

Harry's brow creased in thought. "Hold on," he murmured. "I think I may have a packet in my old rucksack – the one I ran away carrying." 

He disappeared into the hallway and Ginny heard him rummaging in the cupboard under the stairs. "Got it," she heard him shout triumphantly. "There's only enough to get me there and back. One return trip."

Ginny shook her head. "What would happen if the Floo wasn't connected?"

"I wouldn't get very far. I suspect the fireplace would just spit me back out." Harry wandered back into the kitchen, a dilapidated rucksack dangling between his fingers. "I've had a thought, Gin."

His wife deliberately widened her eyes in mock surprise. "That's two since yesterday. Your head is going to explode one of these days."

"Very funny," he grumbled without heat. "Perhaps I should nip through the Floo, if she's not in the infirmary, leave her a note stating a date and time and try again."

"Now you are thinking," Ginny said. "Although you will have to make certain the note isn't intercepted."

"I would doubt that it would be. Why would Harry Potter be contacting Poppy Pomfrey? I usually couldn't wait to get out of the hospital wing away from her tender ministrations."

"True."

"So, I Floo in, leave the note and get out immediately."

"I like the sound of that," she said but she didn't look convinced that would happen. "Otherwise I could be distracting any Muggles in that shop for about two hours. I'm clever but I'm not that entertaining."

"Oh, I don't know," murmured Harry, with a smirk. "I find you very entertaining." He winked.

"Harry James Potter!" she tried to sound scandalised, she really did but failed.

"I need to take out these lenses." Harry blinked as his eyes began to water.

"Go and do that and I'll make the tea."

He gave her a kiss and vanished out of the room. She heard his feet clattering up the stairs. He was still a boy in so many ways. They'd both had to grow up far too fast and now they were going to be parents themselves. Life was strange.

Ten minutes later the door opened into the large living area the Potter's called home and Harry wandered in. He had changed out of his work suit into jeans and a casual jumper, his emerald green eyes visible behind his glasses. "That's better," he said.

The large kitchen living room was the heart of the house. They had a more formal sitting room but rarely used it. Ginny had moved the cutlery to trays and had switched on the television. She'd lit one of the lamps but it wasn't yet dark. The days were long and the nights were short this far north.

"I thought we'd have supper on our knees," she said. "Grab one of the trays."

"Good idea." Harry poured himself a drink and headed to the comfy leather couch. For a few minutes there was silence as they began to eat their meal.

"Harry, I was thinking about tomorrow and…and going to Hogwarts. I had an idea that might help us. I don't like the idea of you just leaving a note. Anyone could read it."

Harry looked up. "Okay," he murmured.

"Suppose Poppy is not in the infirmary when you go there. You can't go traipsing around Hogwarts looking for her."

"No. I can't. The portraits would alert someone in authority and possibly close down my floo access. It would be the only way I get in and out quickly. The infirmary has a Floo just in case Poppy needs to contact St. Mungos."

"It can still be closed down trapping you at Hogwarts. If you're going to go into a situation on my behalf I need to know that we have a way out."

"Not the situation I would like to be in." Harry took a bite of his potato. "And it's on 'our' behalf. Alright, oh wise woman. What is your suggestion?"

"Dobby," Ginny said smugly. "Dobby's still at Hogwarts when he's not at Grimmauld Place. He won't be there because you're not there."

"I never thought of that," Harry said.

"Dobby considers himself to be bound to us," Ginny observed.

"He's free."

"In some ways he is. He's free to be your elf and he loves you for it." Ginny took a couple more bites of her chicken pie. "Prepare a letter with a set time and get Dobby to deliver it to Poppy. Even better, get him to deliver her one of those emergency portkeys Fred and George gave you."

"Good idea," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Dobby could set the destination for you. I'm sure he knows where you are."

Harry grinned. "Probably. He knew that we were 'joined' to one another. I told him not to come looking for us. Dumbledore will have factored Dobby's allegiance to me into things."

"No one ever called Dumbledore foolish."

"Well, to be fair some people have but they were sympathisers with Voldemort or readers of the _Daily Prophet_. I think he was foolish in the way he treated us."

"Yes," Ginny whispered. "But we'll be alright." 

"We will. We all will."

27


	21. Chapter 21

The Unbreakable Vow

**The Unbreakable Vow **

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Part 21**

Nancy Bain lifted her head from the box she was packing as the old-fashioned bell above the shop door tinkled brightly. The door opened and a vaguely familiar young man, dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt, walked through the doorway, holding the hand of a dark-haired, pale-faced girl. For a moment she couldn't think where she'd seen him before and then she remembered. He'd been in the previous day and had bought one of the boxes containing what had probably been her grandmother's useless old books.

"Hello," Nancy said, her face creasing into a smile. "Back again?"

"Hello," Harry said with a polite smile, as he pushed open the shop door. Ginny, after a cursory glance at the dilapidated exterior, followed him inside.

"Yes, I'm back," He said cheerfully. "I think I told you yesterday that I love old books. To be honest, my lunch hour wasn't nearly long enough to browse properly so I decided to come back today before you closed the place for good." He glanced at the girl by his side and a proud smile crossed his face. "This is my wife, Jenny."

Ginny smiled. "Hello. Gary's been going on and on about this place since he got home yesterday, and what a shame it was that you had to close it down." She glanced at the man by her side with fond exasperation.

"I'm glad to be able to finally do it," Nancy said frankly. As the couple moved further into the shop, their hands clutched tightly together, she mentally shook her head. They were married! They didn't look old enough to be out of school. She had to be getting old. "I'm more than ready to retire and I can't compete in today's market."

"It must be difficult," Ginny murmured sympathetically.

"It's not been easy for the last couple of years," Nancy said with a sigh. "But I managed. Have you been married long?"

"Two years," he admitted with a fond glance at the dark-haired girl by his side. "We were the proverbial childhood sweethearts."

"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be with," Ginny admitted, looking at her young husband with an adoring smile.

"I don't suppose anyone else would put up with me," Harry mumbled, his face colouring.

"No, maybe not," agreed Ginny with a mischievous smirk. "You can be hard going sometimes."

"Thanks," said Harry. "I love you too."

Ginny chuckled. "I love old books and wondered if we could have a proper look at some of the boxes Gary was looking at yesterday."

"Go on," Nancy said with a smile. "It's through in the back room. If you don't mind, I'll need to keep sorting through these." She indicated a large pile of what amounted to several hundred books.

"Thanks," Harry said.

They disappeared into the back room, the door swinging behind them. Nancy chuckled. She would give them at least an hour and then check to see if they were alright. She could tell that they were really interested and the thought of not trusting the pair never entered her mind. Maybe they might want to help themselves to a tea or a coffee. She pushed open the door. They already had their heads immersed in a couple of dusty black books.

"The kettle's in that cupboard," she said. "Help yourself."

"That's really kind of you," Ginny said, lifting her eyes from a large book bound in faded burgundy leather.

Nancy chuckled, as she observed Ginny's eyes flitting from one box of books to another. "I can tell that you'll be here for a while. You have that look about you."

Harry laughed, his eyes following his wife as she pulled another book from a box and began carefully turning the pages. "You could be right. Perhaps you might like to throw us out around closing time?"

"I think I can do that." Nancy gave them a final nod before returning to the main shop area and losing herself in her work.

Harry waited until the door swung closed again. "Well?" he said softy.

Ginny lifted her delighted face to Harry. "You were right," she cried. "This place has some brilliant books. They'd look great in our library – even the non-wizarding ones."

"It's not much of a library," he said.

"Not yet," his wife returned evenly. "But one day it will be."

"Have you found any more wizarding ones?" Harry asked as Ginny picked her way through a pile of books stacked on a shelf at the back of the room.

"No, but that mean to say that there aren't any. Give me a chance. We've only been here for five minutes," she said exasperatedly. "If there are any wizarding books here we'll find them." Ginny moved to where the door was slightly ajar and peered through the narrow gap. "She's taking a stock inventory or something. She has her glasses on and the computer running. I would suggest you go now."

"I agree." Harry adjusted his rucksack and checked he had his Invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map.

"Be careful," she instructed. "And don't do anything stupid."

"Who me!" Harry exclaimed quietly.

"Philosopher's Stone, flying car, Basilisk…" Ginny ticked the list off on her fingers. "I'm saying it again. Be careful. Your son is asking you to think before you do anything."

"My son, or daughter, is a blob. He or she can't speak yet."

"If _he_ could, that's what he'd say," Ginny retorted completely convinced that they were having a son. "Be careful, Dad. Leave the reckless Gryffindor at home."

Harry nodded, the expression on his face grave. "I promise, Ginny-love that I'll be careful and I won't be long."

"You'd better not be long or else there'll be trouble. I'll be waiting." The words were threatening but the expression on her face was anything but. She was worried and scared that something would go wrong.

"I won't be long," he reassured her again. "I find Poppy and if she's not there I call for Dobby. I give him the envelope with the letter and the portkey and come home. It's simple." He kissed her. "I want you both to be safe – I'm just making extra sure of it. My parents gave their lives for me and I would do the same for you and the Blob - although I don't plan quitting the mortal realm yet. I have a dark wizard to vanquish permanently first." Harry reached into his pocket for his Floo powder, took a deep breath and enunciated clearly as he ducked and stepped into the fireplace. "The Infirmary…Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

In the blink of an eye he had left the dusty old bookshop and was stumbling from the fireplace into Poppy's empty office. Glancing up at the portrait on the wall, he was relieved to find that it was vacant, its inhabitant taking the chance to visit other parts of the castle whilst the mediwitch was away.

"Poppy!" he called quietly. There was no reply. She could be at the far end of the ward but the whole place spoke of sterility and emptiness. She wasn't here. He needed to check the Marauder's Map before he went any further.

Harry couldn't take any more chances with the way that his luck normally held out and knew that the picture's subject could return at any time. The moving portraits around the castle could, and did, pass information to the headmaster. Harry grabbed the Marauder's Map and his father's Invisibility cloak from his rucksack and, with another look around the office, he swiftly pulled the cloak over his head.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Harry chanted in a whisper. The Marauder's Map began to take shape in front of his eyes. It always amazed him how creatively sophisticated this piece of magic was. He scanned the parchment swiftly but there was no sign of the mediwitch anywhere in the castle. She was not at Hogwarts at this particular time.

"Damn!" he swore quietly. He now had no choice but to get Dobby involved and the elf could be unpredictable at best and behave in a manner completely insane at worst. But on a positive note, Dobby was completely loyal to Harry and had kept his secrets before.

He checked the map for possible threats – which to Harry consisted mainly of Snape and Dumbledore. He doubted that Percy Weasley would be at Hogwarts. The dot representing Snape showed that he was in his dungeon lab. Harry thought that the Potions Professor would probably be completing his brewing for the term to start. As for the headmaster, it was too much to hope that he would be out of the school. But Dumbledore was in his office pacing back and fore, which was far enough from the infirmary to allow Harry to relax a little. It left the coast clear.

He folded up the map and put it in his pocket. If the infirmary office door was locked he would be really stuck. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to perform any magic to get out into the ward itself. He thought he could manage a simple spell by now – he'd felt a prickling sensation when his emotions were heightened. But he didn't want to risk damaging his progress and drawing attention to his magical signature. Using the Floo was dangerous enough. One member of the Potter family was already having to contend with unexpected accidental bouts of magic. They didn't need another.

"Dobby," he hissed as loudly as he dared. "Dobby! It's me, it's Harry Potter. I need your help."

Suddenly there was a loud crack in front of him and the eccentric House Elf appeared, eyes round with amazement. "Harry Potter has returned to Hogwarts," he squeaked. What can Dobby do for Harry Potter, Sir?"

"Dobby," Harry began and then stopped, thinking hard. "You can see me…underneath the cloak?"

"Of course Dobby can. House Elf magic is strong."

The elf was wearing a maroon jumper that Ron had shrunk by mistake – or so he'd told his mother, mismatched coloured socks and one of Hermione's knitted hats. The incongruity of the ensemble made Harry smile. He checked to see if the infirmary portraits were watching and pulled the cloak from his head but left it across his shoulders when it appeared that they were not.

"You is not ready to come back, Harry Potter," said the elf sagely.

"I know and I'm not coming back yet but I need to see Madam Pomfrey. I need her help and its urgent." Or it would be in about eight months time, he thought. He held out the envelope containing the Fred and George created portkey. "Could you give this to Poppy and not tell anyone that I was here. Please," he entreated. "Even if Dumbledore questions you. I know I haven't the right to make you do anything as you're a free elf but…"

"Dobby promises," he said as he reached out, his long spindly fingers closing around Harry's letter. "Harry Potter not even need to ask. It is not time for you to be found." The bulbous eyes assessed the young man taking in the worry on his face. "You is happy where you is."

"I am happy," Harry admitted. "Happier than I've ever been. But the Muggle world is not where I belong."

Dobby's face was serious. "I can feel your magic now." Dobby smiled happily. "It is coming back. Stay safe, Harry Potter."

Harry's green eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You know where we are staying. Don't you?"

The elf smirked slyly. "Dobby would never tell. The Professors they asked and asked but Dobby not tell where Missis Wheezy-Potter and Harry Potter, Sir, is hiding. I is a free elf but work for Harry Potter and Mrs Wheezy-Potter."

"Thanks," Harry whispered. "When all this is over you can come and work for me all the time."

"Dobby accepts."

Harry managed to smile at the little creature. "Give the note to Poppy, please and I'll be back soon."

"Back?" The elf looked worried. "No, Harry Potter, not coming back yet. Not time."

"I may need to return to see and speak to Madam Pomfrey," Harry explained patiently.

"Dobby will deliver the message to Healy-witch. He will explain." He suddenly pricked up his ears and looked scared. "Professor Dumbles is coming. He knows stranger is in castle. Castle know you are a friend, so she let you in and will let you out. Best get home to Missis Wheezy-Potter. She be getting worried." And with a soft pop, he vanished.

Harry took one look at the doors to the infirmary and swallowed. Stuffing his cloak back into the rucksack he dived into the office muttering swear words under his breath and as he glanced down at the map in his hands, he heard the voice calling out, "Hello!"

Harry grabbed the packet of Floo powder from his pocket and spoke hurriedly. "Babble's Books." With a flash of green fire, he disappeared once more from the wizarding world.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

The famous twinkle in Albus Dumbledore's blue eyes had seriously diminished in the three years since Harry Potter had disappeared. There was relief and joy that Voldemort had somehow vanished again and pleasure that the Boy Who Lived had once more been the cause but it was mixed by the sobering realisation, certainly by Dumbledore and most of those in power, that the situation was a temporary one. Voldemort would undoubtedly be back. The current Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, certainly believed that to be the case and had even managed to intimidate Percy Weasley into submission. That boy had shown so much promise and his stupidity had caused so much trouble and pain. Albus firmly believed that if Percy hadn't tried to separate Harry from Ginny by betrothing her to Draco Malfoy, they would still have both Ginny and Harry where they could see them.

The pompous Weasley brother was not ready and waiting to take over as Minister of Magic but working as a junior minister in the Department of Magical Transportation. This new position would delay his ambitious plans for some time and he knew it. Percy spent most of his spare time hounding the wizards in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to declare Harry Potter a criminal and have him arrested on sight. But there had been no sight of Harry for three years and the Ministry, having learned a few things in the intervening years since Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts, was not going to declare their possible saviour a criminal.

And Dumbledore wondered what had happened to the green-eyed boy he'd condemned to such an uncertain future. He'd lost Harry's trust and deservedly so. Harry had chosen to escape rather than follow the plans Albus had made for his safekeeping. Wherever he was - even with Voldemort gone, he was in danger and without his magic… He closed his eyes and tried to push away his guilt and his pain.

Voldemort's followers had not gone away. They'd merely retreated into the background; plotting, planning and biding their time.

The headmaster heaved a tired sigh. Yes, he'd manipulated and meddled but it had all been for the greater good. What he'd failed to see was that it hadn't been good for Harry and the boy had finally rebelled. He stared at the silver instruments displayed throughout the office. The ones monitoring Harry were still and silent. Harry was lost to his gaze and Albus was aware that most of it was his own fault.

The wards at Privet Drive had been strengthened but Harry hadn't returned to complete the warding. It left the Dursleys in an awkward position. Dumbledore had persuaded them to move to an Order safe house where they could be guarded properly. It would be many years before they returned to their home.

Voldemort was not gone forever and Dumbledore knew it. He could already have returned to life although Snape, still attending the occasion meeting of Voldemort's followers that were still free, had had no warnings. The Potions Professor's mark had faded a little since Harry's disappearance but was still visible on his left forearm if anyone cared to look.

Wondering what the Death Eaters were currently up to without their master would have to wait. There were only a couple of weeks left before term started and Albus was awaiting the return of the staff to the castle after the long summer holidays. Trelawney was already here, but she rarely left the confines of her turret room and Severus… He preferred to remain in his dungeon brewing potions for the year ahead and researching other scholarly pursuits. He was currently brewing a batch of Skelegrow as the infirmary went through a lot of that particular potion when the Quidditch season started.

Suddenly Dumbledore stiffened. One of the odd little silver machines on his desk began to whiz rapidly round and round. "What is it?" he asked aloud. He walked towards the window and as he looked out at the lake he placed his hands against the stone wall. It seemed to shudder against his palm as if it was taking a giant breath. "Who is it?" Albus was attuned to the castle in all its moods and this felt different. The castle was almost a living thing and could still surprise him from time to time.

Someone unexpectedly had entered the castle but there had been no protest from the building nor had she raised her defences against the intruder. One could not apparate in or out of Hogwarts but there were fireplaces open for Floo travel or a specially prepared portkey could be used to access areas within the castle wards. Portkeys were normally issued by the Ministry or another figure in authority. Therefore, the visitor had to have come by Floo. He stared at the device and noted the configuration of the spinning discs.

"The infirmary!" he murmured. Poppy Pomfrey, the mediwitch, had gone to her sister's for the weekend. So, the hospital wing was empty. Who would want to visit her? Was it someone who was badly injured and needed her care? Why come here and not go to St. Mungos? "Hogwarts, you have a visitor," he declared. "Can you show me who it is?"

The wards gave a hum and then a shiver and finally relaxed as if in welcome but that didn't make things any clearer to the headmaster.

"Adalric!" Albus said abruptly turning to the portrait of a pompous looking wizard dressed in a gaudy waistcoat and a powdered wig. This was peculiar. He'd never known the castle to react quite in such a way before. "Someone has flooed into the castle to see Poppy, possibly requiring urgent medical attention. Could you check with the portraits in the infirmary and see if they can tell you what is happening?"

"Of course, Dumbledore." The wizard got up out of the chair he'd been painted upon and could be seen making his way through the paintings.

"Baron!" He called softly and the ghost of the Bloody Baron materialised through the wall.

"Headmaster?"

"Have the ghosts seen or heard anything unusual today?"

"No."

Dumbledore frowned. He was missing something. "Come with me," he instructed. "I'm going to the infirmary." He opened the door to his office and headed down the stairs. The gargoyle moved aside and closed behind him. In his office, a strange looking device which had been dormant for three years began sluggishly to spin. It had once been used to monitor the well-being of Harry James Potter.

Dumbledore sped along the empty corridors towards the infirmary as swiftly as he could, unaware of the interesting development currently taking place in his office. As he approached the large double doors to the infirmary, he heard a faint pop.

"Hello!" He swished and flicked his wand and the doors opened. The infirmary was empty. The sound of the Floo activating directed his footsteps to Poppy's office, only to find it deserted – green flames in the fireplace dying away to nothing.

"Who was it?" he shouted urgently and a curled piece of parchment floated out from the Floo. Albus Dumbledore smiled smugly until he read the word. The piece of parchment read 'Identity unknown'. Someone, who wanted their identity to remain a secret, had accessed the school. Possibly to see Poppy or more worryingly, to get into the building. He would have to upgrade the security for the coming term. He hadn't had to do that since the second rise of Voldemort. "Destination!" he barked, the usual twinkle absent from his eyes and another piece of curled parchment floated out from the Floo. Albus caught the parchment in shaking fingers and read aloud, "Destination unknown."

The school had granted the mysterious visitor anonymity and the headmaster could only wonder why.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Ginny, anxiously waiting at the bookstore, heard a rattle, then a rumble and finally, heralded by a large cloud of soot, her husband was ejected from the fireplace. He landed on his rump with a thud, exhaling noisily as if all the air had been squeezed from his lungs.

Ever prepared, Ginny pushed a tissue into his hand, pointed at his sooty face and tipped over a large pile of books which went crashing to the floor.

Harry quickly rubbed the tissue over his face, coughing to clear the soot from his lungs and was able to face a bewildered bookshop owner when she threw open the door.

"I knocked over some books," Harry muttered sheepishly.

"I told him to stay away from that stack but…" Ginny grinned conspiratorially, he never listens to me."

"I do so," Harry retorted.

"And then he fell over trying to stop something that had already happened."

"She's laughing at me," he said gloomily.

"Do you blame me?" Ginny returned cheekily. "I'll make him pick them up, don't worry."

Nancy chuckled at Harry's put upon expression. "I think most of them are going to the recycling centre. In other words, I'm dumping them. Did you see anything that you liked?"

Ginny pointed towards another pile of books. "These please. I found a lovely illustrated book of fairy tales."

Harry's eyes, brown because of his contact lenses, brightened. "For the baby," he whispered to his wife. Ginny's eyes sparkled back at him. "No, for you, you prat. Of course for the baby."

Nancy pointed at a large sturdy cardboard box. "Put what you want in there," she said.

"Thanks," said Harry, hoping that he'd managed to get most of the soot off his face. They could explain away some of the grime because these were all old second-hand books and collected a lot of dust but he couldn't go around town looking like a chimney sweep. That particular Floo may have been forgotten about but as a result, it hadn't been cleaned in years.

Ginny paid Nancy while Harry picked up the box of books and heaved it to the car. "I wish I had a Featherlight charm for this," he wheezed, convinced that his lungs were still clogged up with soot and Floo powder.

"Not a good idea," muttered Ginny, pointing the key at the car. The boot clicked open.

"I know it's not a good idea. I'm just hoping that I'll develop an impressive set of muscles that will make you love me even more than you do already."

Ginny's smile lit up her face. "That's not possible, Harry. I couldn't love you more than I do and I think the muscles you have got now are fine."

Harry's heart melted into a pile of gooey mush. Merlin, he loved this girl.

"Well," Ginny said, coming to her senses. Such displays of sentimentality were more the province of her brother Ron when he'd been seeing a witch by the name of Lavender Brown. Ginny had promised herself that she'd never be so nauseatingly cute but Harry was… well, Harry was worth doing anything for. She loved him and there was nothing more to say. "How did you get on?"

"Wait till we're out of the open," he answered quietly.

She pressed her lips together but nodded and hurriedly unlocked the car. It would only take one mistake and they could be caught.

Harry dumped the box in the boot and stretched his arms, letting the muscles relax. "Anything interesting?"

"One or two things. I suspect you got the interesting books yesterday," she said.

"Depends on what you term 'interesting'." he returned evenly.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Harry slowly drove the car carefully up the private lane to their house. The trees parted and the cottage came into view bathed in the early afternoon sunshine. He had loved this house from the moment he had seen the photograph. This was a place in which to live with the one you loved, raise a family and grow old comfortably. It was home but it wasn't yet truly safe.

"Home," he breathed.

"I'll put on the kettle and make us a late lunch," Ginny murmured with a faint smile at the expression on Harry's face. All she wanted to know was what had happened at Hogwarts but Harry had rightly refused to say anything until they'd got home. Keeping secrets had become a way of life for them.

"Good idea, sweetheart," Harry said. "I'm feeling peckish but first, I'll empty the car and get these books dumped into the study."

Ten minutes later they faced one another across the kitchen table, each clutching a large mug of tea, their untouched sandwiches before them.

"So, what did Poppy say?" Ginny asked nervously.

"I didn't see Poppy," Harry said regretfully. "She wasn't in the castle. However, I did manage to contact Dobby. He agreed to deliver the portkey."

His wife's face fell but she tried to hide her disappointment. "You do trust Dobby and he will do it…won't he?"

"Of course I trust Dobby," Harry chuckled as the memory came. "He only tried to kill me back in second year because he thought it would keep me safe."

Ginny arched an eyebrow. "That is _so_ reassuring," she said dryly.

"I thought so," Harry said with a smirk. "Dobby promised that he would give the message to Poppy without anyone else knowing about it."

Ginny took a careful sip of her tea. "So now we wait."

"Now we wait." Harry shrugged. "Ginny…"

"There's something else," she said shrewdly. "I know you too well, Harry Potter. You might as well tell me everything now."

His wife didn't miss a thing. "I…er, only just missed meeting Dumbledore."

Ginny's eyes narrowed and Harry could see her thinking furiously. "You didn't go walkabout."

Her husband swiftly shook his head. "No," he protested, his voice rising. "I did exactly what we discussed. I never left the hospital wing."

"Then, how did Professor Dumbledore know that you were there? Did the portraits give you away?"

"Dumbledore couldn't have known that I was there. I'm pretty sure of that. I didn't do any magic. The portrait's inhabitants weren't present in the infirmary while I was there. I don't think I saw any movement until the split second before I stepped into the Floo. I suspect it would be nigh well impossible to gauge my identity…"

"Are you certain?"

Harry shrugged.

Ginny bit her lip worriedly. "The headmaster must have some sort of warning system in place."

"I would say that it's very likely. He_ should_ have something like that in place. It's a school, damn it! Something he seemed to forget when we were pupils there. Quirrel, Barty Crouch Junior…"

She wrapped her hands around her mug of tea and frowned. "Dumbledore didn't know that Sirius was actually in the castle in your third year."

"No, not until Sirius inadvertently attacked Ron while he was looking for Pettigrew," agreed Harry. "I suspect Dumbledore's improved security since then and, remember that Sirius used the secret passages from Hogsmeade to get and out of Hogwarts. I'm quite sure that the headmaster might not know everything about the castle but he knows more than anyone else alive. But as I said before, Hogwarts is a school for children. Alright they are magical but they're not test subjects in the war against Voldemort."

Ginny sighed. "Yes Harry. But…"

Harry shrugged. "I went to Hogwarts by Floo."

"True." Ginny stood up and began clearing away their dishes. "So Dumbledore monitors the Floo system."

"It would make sense. I heard his voice," Harry said softly. "I wanted to go and see him. I wanted to see if he was sorry for what he'd done to me, to you…to us."

Ginny walked to him and put her arms around him. "Dumbledore was only trying to do what was right. We know who the real culprit is."

"Yes. Voldemort!" Harry spat the name with hatred. "How much time do we have, Ginny, before the bastard comes back from the dead and decides to look for us?"

"The longer the better. We've had three years..."

"It's not enough." He noticed that she'd placed her hand gently on her stomach. "History won't repeat itself," he declared vehemently. "I'll make sure of that. With you and our child, I want an entire lifetime."

_**xxxxxxxx**_

Poppy Pomfrey returned to Hogwarts late on the Sunday evening after a pleasant weekend spent with her sister. It would be her last real break until Christmas. The start of the new term was only a week away and she had a lot to do before the children arrived back.

"Good morning, Poppy," Albus greeted her as she slid into her chair at the end of the staff dining table the following morning. "How was Dillys?"

"Very well."

"Is she still at St Mungos?"

"Yes." Poppy's stern mouth relaxed into a smile. "She's been there for almost twenty years. In fact, she was promoted recently and is now in charge of the Accidental Spell Damage ward."

"Good for her. She was always a most able and talented healer," he said warmly. "Poppy, would it be possible for you to come to my office immediately after breakfast? There's something important that I need to discuss with you."

"Certainly, Albus," she replied, assuming that it would be information about the new school intake.

"This won't take long," the headmaster assured her as he escorted her past the gargoyle and up the spiral staircase.

"I suppose it's about the new intake," Poppy said briskly, settling herself into the chair opposite the headmaster's.

"No actually, it's not. We _will_ have to talk about the new students next week once I get the full details from Minerva but…"

"Details!" Poppy's eyebrows rose. "You aren't expecting any werewolves this year?"

"Sadly, no." Dumbledore's eyes dulled in disappointment. "The werewolf community still like to educate their own. Remus Lupin has done a lot of good there. But they're not ready to fully integrate. It's still too dangerous." He steepled his long fingers together. "I wanted to speak to you on another matter."

Poppy looked surprised but relieved at the lack of werewolves attending the school during the coming term. "Oh, what?"

Dumbledore picked up his wand and with a quick flick, two steaming hot cups of tea materialised in front of them. Poppy picked up the cup and took a sip. "Perfect," she declared.

He smiled. "I do my best," he said gently. "I must speak to you about something far more worrying than the new school intake. While you were away, someone broke into the infirmary. When you arrived back last night did you notice anything missing or out of place?"

"No," the mediwitch said, looking worried. "But I'll do a thorough check when I return. It looked exactly the way that I left it. All the dangerous potions are locked away and protected."

"I did have a quick glance around myself, but I couldn't see that anything had been disturbed. They came and went by Floo. I may have to close down Floo access to the hospital wing."

"You cannot do that, Albus," Poppy exclaimed. "I need to be in contact with places like St Mungos and the apothecaries." She shook her head, the white starched cap on her head wobbling alarmingly. "Moving a seriously ill patient from one side of Hogwarts to the other in order to use the only open Floo in the school will not do. In fact I was planning to pop into St Mungos tomorrow. They have a couple of experimental potions they've been trialling very successfully in the treatment of Dragonpox. We are due for another outbreak."

The headmaster sighed. "I shall have to rethink that idea."

"Yes, you will," Poppy said tartly. "Someone could have been hurt and thought of coming to me first. It's extremely possible that an Order member might come here before trying anywhere else. I'm certain there are spies for You-know-who at St Mungos and at the Ministry."

"Yes, they are still there," Dumbledore agreed wearily. "I did consider that an Order member might have been injured and discretely checked with St Mungos." He shook his head. "All our personnel are well and accounted for."

The mediwitch replaced her cup on to her saucer and got to her feet. "I'll do a thorough inventory. I need to do that before term begins anyway as Severus is anxious to complete the brewing for the infirmary. He's already begun on the Skelegrow. If there's something out of the ordinary I'll let you know."

For the next few hours Poppy checked and rechecked her supplies. She found a couple of things she thought she'd lost but otherwise everything was as she had left it and she lost no time in informing Albus of the fact. By late afternoon, she was well through her tasks for the day and was rewinding a pile of bandages when a soft pop alerted her to the arrival of a house elf. She turned and viewed the strangest sight she'd seen in a long time. "Can I help you?" The elf was dressed in a maroon jumper a pair of mismatched brightly coloured socks and had several knitted hats balanced on top of his head.

"I am Dobby," the peculiar looking elf announced.

'Dobby', thought Poppy. She'd heard of a 'Dobby'. "How can I help you?"

"Madam Healy-witch is too good to help Dobby," the elf almost sobbed, bowing low. "I came to give you this." He bowed again and presented her with a Muggle-style envelope.

"Tell no one of this." The elf's bulging eyes fixed on her with a painful intensity. "No one," he repeated. "I will return and help if you need me."

"What!" Poppy ran her fingers over the crisp white paper. "Who could be writing to me Muggle style?"

The elf almost smiled as he hopped from one foot to another in his nervousness. "Open it quickly," he advised. "The headmaster be watching and must not see this. Tell no one and give me job to do."

"Job?" Poppy was at a loss. She didn't have any jobs that might require a house elf unless... "Could you deliver a list of potions to Professor Snape?"

"Dobby not like greasy hook-nose but will do it for good witch who looks after Dobby's friends." He pointed a long bony finger at the letter, "Read it."

Thoroughly bewildered Poppy walked through to her office and retrieved the piece of creamy parchment lying on her desk. "Give this to Professor Snape," she said. And with a sharp crack the elf disappeared as soon as he'd grasped the parchment from her fingers.

Poppy retired to her office and stared at the letter now lying on her desk. Who could be writing to her? Who would a house elf consider to be a friend? Suddenly it all became clear and she fumbled to open it, tearing at the envelope in her hurry with clumsy fingers. Out of it fell a single golden galleon and a letter.

_Dear Poppy,_

_I'm sure you're surprised to hear from me after all this time but I desperately need your help. The enclosed galleon is an unauthorised portkey. It should be difficult to trace but not impossible. The need for secrecy in this goes without saying, so use it with care. I need your advice and your help in a situation I know little about. It's not life threatening but it is serious. No one else must know about this._

_The galleon will transport you to my current location. If you doubt this letter, I thank you for the supplies you set up for me when I left and glad that you cured my headache. If you have any spare vials of Pepper-up I would be grateful. _

_I am awaiting your visit and the password is 'Gillyweed'._

_H._

The scrawled initial at the bottom of the letter confirmed her suspicions. Harry Potter needed her help. It all fit. Harry had been close to an elf by the name of Dobby and it must have been Harry who had flooed into the infirmary yesterday. Harry had used Gillyweed during the Tri-wizard tournament during the second challenge. To Poppy, it was more proof that the letter was genuine and a sense of relief filled her. He was alive and it seemed as if he was well.

A sudden pop announced the reappearance of Dobby. "You must destroy letter," he said firmly.

"I agree. We can't have this falling into the wrong hands." With a flick of her wand the letter began to burn and disintegrated into ashes in the fireplace. Poppy replaced her wand in her pocket and ran her fingers over her starched white apron.

"You must go now," instructed Dobby.

"No," she said thoughtfully. "I'll go after supper. The headmaster will expect me to be there. Not being there would make him wonder where I was especially after the break-in. He may send someone to find out."

Dobby smiled toothily. "Mistress Healy-witch is wise."

Poppy managed to contain her unrest throughout the meal and escaped as quickly as she could back to the infirmary. There was no telling what kind of trouble the boy had got himself into this time. Every year she'd had to patch him up after one scrape or another. Picking up the galleon and a bag of medical supplies that she'd prepared, she murmured, "Gillyweed." The usual feeling of being sucked through a narrow tube found her stumbling in front of a two-storied stone cottage built around a courtyard and surrounded by trees.

She had no idea where she was. She just hoped that Harry Potter would open the front door and readied her wand just in case her welcome was less than friendly. As she moved lights switched on leaving her feeling very exposed and then, the front door opened revealing a familiar figure.

"H…Harry. Is it really you?"

The man moved forward and drew her into a warm hug. "Poppy, it's good to see you. Ask me some questions that only I could answer."

"Harry Potter," she said with a shake of her head as she surreptitiously checked him over for any injuries. "You did that in your letter." She held up the bag she was carrying. "Some supplies. I'm glad you're okay. You are alright?"

"We're both okay," he replied.

"Both…" Confused, Poppy allowed herself to be led into the house. "What's wrong?"

Harry grinned. "Nothing really."

"Nothing…then why?" The mediwitch knew there was something more going on here.

"Madam Pomfrey," a voice said.

"Poppy, I'd like you to meet…my wife." He couldn't help it; the pride entered his voice as soon as he mentioned his wife.

Poppy couldn't say anything for a few seconds. "Your wife! Ginny… Ginny Weasley? You married Ginny?"

A slim, dark haired young woman walked forward and grasped Poppy's hands tightly. "It's good to see you and it's Ginny Potter now."

"You did help her escape," Poppy said faintly, staring at the girl. What had happened to her hair? What had she done with the glorious colour denoting a member of the Weasley family?

"Of course I did," answered Harry. "I wasn't going to let her marry Draco Malfoy. She married me instead."

"That I did," said Ginny with a grin.

"But Ginny…your hair."

"Weasley red is a bit distinctive. We didn't want to draw any more attention to ourselves. You'll notice that both Harry and I have altered our hair colour a little and Harry's wearing brown contact lenses."

Poppy gaped at them as her brain finally caught up to what she was hearing and seeing. "What about the Malfoy contract?"

Harry shrugged. "What about it? It hasn't seemed to make any difference to us. But we married in a Muggle church ceremony. It may have blocked us from marrying if we'd gone through a wizarding ceremony."

"That shouldn't make any difference," Poppy said. "You were betrothed to Draco Malfoy in a magical contract. These are usually binding and it wouldn't matter what kind of ceremony you attempted. I'm by no means as expert but it wouldn't work."

"So you're saying that we're legally married despite the contract." Harry breathed a sigh of relief. They'd married under their assumed names but when they'd checked the paperwork later on, the documents had magically altered to their true identities. Thank Merlin that the goblins were on their side.

"I think your marriage is definitely legal. In the Muggle world it obviously is and that should follow through in the wizarding world." A thought occurred to the mediwitch, the Malfoy contract could be more insidious than merely preventing Ginny's union with anyone else. "Do you still have your magic, Ginny?"

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look. "I do," said the young witch although I haven't used it for three years." She shrugged. "I'm happy with Harry – I don't want to be found unless it's safe for me and it's been interesting living as a Muggle. But something's happened – something important."

"That's partly why we needed to see you," Harry said. His eyes followed Ginny as she moved to the kitchen and switched on the kettle. "She's been performing accidental magic."

"What!" Poppy levelled a critical look at Ginny. Perhaps the non-fulfilment of the Malfoy contract had affected her magic after all. "What has been happening?"

Ginny poured the boiling water from the kettle into a large ceramic teapot. "I'm pregnant," she said softly in a voice filled with wonder. "We're having a baby."

"Merlin!" breathed Poppy, subsiding into a squishy brown leather armchair. If the pair of them didn't have enough troubles to be going on with this just melted the last cauldron. "I assume it's magical?"

"We think so." Harry set out milk, sugar and biscuits. "We don't know anything about wizarding pregnancies. Even Ginny doesn't."

"My mother only told me not to sleep with a wizard until I was married. Perhaps she didn't want to talk about pregnancies because she'd had so many herself."

"I don't think that was the reason," said Harry. "She was protective of her little girl."

Poppy gave them both a very dry look. "I should think that any child between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley would be magically powerful. I'm not sure if I still want to be at Hogwarts when this child gets anywhere near the school. A child with your combination of genes could only be magical…and troublesome."

The Potters grinned at one another. "We said something very similar when we found out and remember, it has Fred and George as uncles. Our kid is doomed to be trouble and we wouldn't have it any other way."

Poppy pulled out her wand and began unshrinking bottles. "I didn't know what kind of emergency you were asking me to, Harry. So I brought several types of remedies." She fixed Harry with a stern look. "Unfortunately I didn't consider that pregnancy might be the problem."

"It's not a problem," Ginny and Harry said together. "We want this baby very much."

Poppy's fierce gaze softened. "I'm sure that you do. Stand up, Ginny." She picked up her wand again and began aiming it at Ginny's still flat stomach. The tip of the wand shone briefly with a golden light. "Yes, you're definitely pregnant and it's due in late April or early May."

Harry handed Poppy a large mug of tea. "I'm really going to be a Dad," he whispered, awe colouring his voice.

"Yes, you are. Congratulations," Poppy murmured, brushing a tear from her eye as Harry embraced his wife. "And a very good one, too, I would imagine. However, you have other things to think about first."

"What things?" Ginny asked.

"What kind of magic are you performing?" Poppy asked briskly, the complete professional.

"Levitating objects mainly. And I changed the contents of my sandwich yesterday."

"You didn't tell me that one," said Harry, who had thought he was being helpful by making lunch.

"I do like cheese," Ginny said with a chuckle. "I just fancied tuna and mayonnaise more and when I bit into the sandwich it was made from tuna and mayonnaise."

"Oh!" There wasn't much more Harry could say as his cheeky witch winked at him.

Poppy took out her wand again and waved it in an intricate pattern and suddenly small silver lights danced around Ginny's head.

"What does this mean?" asked Harry.

Poppy rummaged in her bag and pulled out what looked like a thermometer, sticking it in Ginny's mouth. "It means that every pregnancy is different but you are certainly experiencing the effects very early."

"And…" said Ginny.

"Your baby will be strong magically." She flicked her wand once more and the lights disappeared into Ginny's body. "I'm placing a protective band around your baby which will restrict your bouts of accidental magic. Oh, don't worry, Harry. It's quite common," she snapped as he opened his mouth to say something. "It dissolves naturally as soon as the child is born."

"Okay." Ginny sat back, relieved.

"Everything appears to be progressing as it should despite the early manifestation of its powers."

Ginny looked down at her stomach. I might have guessed," she said. "I knew you were going to be trouble, Blob."

Poppy laughed "You are only just pregnant. I would go and see a Muggle doctor."

"But I'm a witch," Ginny protested.

"There's not a lot more difference, to be honest," murmured Poppy. "We all have the same equipment. Only when they say a woman is glowing in pregnancy, it sometimes happens that a witch will actually 'glow'."

"I don't want to go phosphorescent," cried Ginny indignantly. "Muggle mothers don't do that and I can't go to a doctor if that happens."

"It may not happen in your case," the mediwitch soothed.

"Yeah, right," said Ginny with a groan. "What are the odds?"

Harry grinned. "If it happens we'll deal with it…away from Muggle doctors."

Poppy shrugged. "If it does happen, it will only last for an hour or two. It should occur at exactly six-sevenths of the pregnancy."

"Six-sevenths!" Ginny exclaimed. "Mum never said anything about that."

"It's a strange number but it has been documented in several of the works by the noted Victorian midwife, Melinda Childs, and in the twentieth century by the current head of midwifery at St Mungos. Now, while I remember," she mused, "there are potions that will help Ginny nurture a magical baby."

"It's too dangerous…" Harry began.

"Potions can be made without magic," Poppy said. "Natural homeopathic remedies have been used for centuries – some were invented by wizards for the use of Squib family members."

"No foolish wand waving," quipped Ginny.

"Quite," said Poppy.

"We found some magic books in a shop in town," said Harry. "The owner is closing up and this box belonged to her grandmother. She hadn't looked at the books - wasn't fond of the old woman. But said that apparently in her day, she had a reputation as a wise-woman."

"Then her books should have exactly the things that you and Ginny will need."

Harry went through to his study and raked through the box of books returning with a couple of thick volumes. "Would these do?"

Poppy looked at the titles and smiled with satisfaction. "Perfect," she declared. "Natural Home Remedies by Adela Southernwood' and 'Potions for the Wellbeing of the Familie by Rowan Sylver'. This one is very good and I don't think any of the modern treatises have managed to supplant it. Ignore the stuff about goat's livers and toad's intestines and you should do very well. She marked several pages. The recipes I've marked all use ingredients you can get in Muggle shops. I also suggest you start growing your own herbs."

"Thank you, Poppy. We have a small herb garden but it contains plants we might use in our cooking." Harry glanced at his watch. "I'm not hurrying you away but…"

"Yes," Poppy said with a sigh. "If Dumbledore discovers that I've left the castle…" She frowned and levelled a quelling look on the young man in front of her. "This was a very risky endeavour, Harry. They are still looking for you both."

"Ginny was performing bouts of accidental magic," said Harry simply. "It could have led to our being discovered anyway. I'm not risking her or the baby. We trust you and both of us felt that it was worth the risk."

"Do they think that we're together?" asked Ginny quietly. "I did say to my mother I was leaving without telling Harry but I don't know if she believed me."

"I believe that your family does think you're with Harry, Ginny. Percy and Ron have been very vocal about efforts to find you."

"That would be Ron's way," agreed Harry. "A lot of shouting but possibly little action." He looked ashamed. "Perhaps I'm not being kind to Ron but I grew up and he didn't."

"Percy has been extremely angry but people are tired of his whining. You are the Boy Who Lived and Percy cannot compete with that. The Twins and Bill are less angry but have continued to quietly search for you both. I think they hope that you're safe and are glad that you're not married to Draco Malfoy. They want you back where you belong, Ginny."

"I want to be with my family," Ginny admitted. "But Harry is home for me now. I need to be where he is."

"I said to the Twins that I had a plan that might help Ginny but I didn't say that it would work. They never asked me anything else. I suspect they knew not to." Harry looked pensive. "What you don't know others can't find out from your mind, isn't that right?"

Ginny nodded. "I told my mother I was going to leave for a bit but she was still in St Mungos back then. I doubt she would remember what I told her. Luckily, the Aurors couldn't question her at the time because of her condition and by the time, they could…" Ginny sighed. "I had gone. I miss her very much"

"Your mother is doing very well and is almost back to her old self," said Poppy, glad to give good news. "She misses you very much but I think she remembers some of the things you told her the day you escaped."

"I'm glad," whispered Ginny. "I wouldn't want her to worry too much about me."

Poppy nodded. "The Malfoy's have kept very quiet but are still lobbying behind the scenes for political power. I think they're secretly ashamed that you preferred to run away rather than marry into the family. In fact, Bill gave an interview to Xenophilius Lovegood…"

"From _The Quibbler? _Luna's father!" exclaimed Ginny.

"Yes. Bill gave an interview stating that was why you had run. His account of Percy trying to gain advancement in the Ministry by forcibly allying Ginny to someone she didn't want anything to do with did not show him in a good light. Scrimgeour moved him to a lesser position in the Ministry and Percy knows it. Hermione's been appointed as Percy's assistant."

"Scrimgeour wouldn't want Percy taking over his job." Harry chuckled darkly. "And I wonder who is observing who. Is Hermione watching Percy or is Percy watching Hermione?"

"It's a little of both I would expect," said Ginny. "Ron will be watching both of them because actually Hermione and Percy are quite well-suited in temperament if not inclination."

Harry nodded. "I can't see relations between Percy and the rest of the family improving any but Hermione will try and attempt a reconciliation. Bill punched Percy on the nose, the day that I left and Percy, who has little but his pride to cling to, thinks the rest of the family still look down on him and hopes one day to prove them wrong."

"Bill is well-respected member of the wizarding community. He's now working permanently at Gringotts in this country. He said that he was not going to leave his family without protection again and I think he blames himself partly for Ginny's situation."

"It wasn't his fault," said Ginny. "He is well?"

Poppy smiled. "He and Fleur are both well. Ron got a job in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Your whole family are well, Ginny."

"That's good to know," Ginny said softly. "I wish that you could tell them something about us but you can't."

"What about my disappearance?" Harry asked curiously. "What story have they cooked up to explain that?"

"Dumbledore and the Ministry said that you were in a safe place undergoing special training."

Harry snorted derisively "They've accepted that Voldemort will return again."

"Scrimgeour has and he's the Minister."

"Well, that's more than Fudge ever did. I hope they're doing something constructive about it," said Harry.

"I know that Auror training has been tightened up and more recruits accepted. Bill told me that some of the more prominent of the darker families are being carefully watched."

Harry fidgeted with his wedding ring for a moment, twisting it round and round his finger. "How is Remus?"

Poppy gave the young man a sympathetic look. "Better than he was. I'm not going to lie to you and say that he wasn't hurt badly by your disappearance or angry that you left without telling him. He's come to accept why you did and admits that he understands even if his feelings were hurt. He's grown very close to Tonks."

"She always liked him," said Ginny thoughtfully.

"But he kept pushing her away," added Harry.

"He's like someone else I could mention," muttered Ginny, with a glare at her husband. "Thinks that pushing them away keeps them safe. It doesn't."

"Tonks will be good for him," Observed Harry. "He needs someone."

"Could you check Harry's magic?" asked Ginny. "He thinks he can feel it but doesn't want to chance using it yet."

"It's been three years. I would think it could be five or as much as ten before everything works properly again. However if you're already sensing things, it could return earlier than I thought."

"I knew the Floo in the old bookshop was still active. I could feel it. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck."

The mediwitch waved her wand over Harry and a small tube formed in front of them. "Well, this should be interesting."

Thetube began to fill with swirling colours and the three wizards watched with amazement as the colours began to settle almost like a rainbow however interspersed with the colour was areas of a dark inky black.

The mediwitch's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, I…I don't know what to say."

"Is it good?" asked Harry.

"Much better than I dared to hope for. But you need to be patient a little longer."

"We're not going anywhere. We're safe here for the moment," Ginny said quietly. "I'm not taking my baby back to the wizarding world to find that it would belong to Malfoy or something stupid like that. He might do it harm."

"I need to be fit to protect my family." Harry's chin tilted. "I'm not back to full magical strength yet. I couldn't face a first year in a duel."

"Oh, I think you could but…" Poppy watched the colours in the tube swirl around a bit more.

"But not a Death Eater," he finished. "And they're the ones I need to be able to face."

Poppy vanished the tube. "I agree. You're not ready for them, yet. We're quite sure that You-know-who hasn't returned but the headmaster thinks that it cannot be long before he does. I've brought some more magical strengthening tonic to speed up the process but I can't do anything else. The only real cure is time." She didn't say that it was possible for time to run out – she didn't need to. "I suggest both of you take it. There's enough for several months. Possibly up until you give birth, Ginny."

The Potter's nodded.

"Will you come back when it's my time, Poppy?" Ginny asked in a small voice. "Normally I would have had my mother with me but…"

"Of course if you really want me to be there but…"

"We do," said Harry.

"What about friends?"

"I don't have any really close friends that I trust enough to tell that I'm a witch on the run…"

"What about Caroline?" asked Harry.

"Gave birth two weeks ago," said Ginny wistfully. "I haven't seen the baby yet. "I still say that we can't risk it."

Poppy leaned over and grasped Ginny's hand giving it a squeeze. She should have realised that the young couple really were on their own in this. "Of course I will. Don't worry about it."

"How are we going to manage it?" Harry asked. "If Ginny's going to be levitating the hospital staff or something during labour…"

"Harry Potter!" Poppy Pomfrey chuckled. "That doesn't happen."

Harry wasn't laughing. "It could."

Poppy stopped laughing at the worried look on Harry's face and reconsidered. "Oh! This is _your_ child we're talking about, isn't it." She sighed. Anything was possible where Harry and Ginny were concerned. "I will make arrangements to be here."

"I couldn't tell Ron and Hermione that I was leaving," Harry said suddenly. "They'd have gone straight to Dumbledore."

"You don't know that, Harry."

"I do – even if they didn't mean to they would have told him everything. Their Occlumency shields wouldn't have been strong enough. Even if they'd said nothing at all, the first time he'd met them after I left would have been enough. He could have learned everything."

"Will the baby's name appear on the Hogwarts school register?" Ginny asked.

"I was told by Hagrid that my name had been down to attend Hogwarts since I was born," Harry added.

"We don't want to wake up one morning and find that Twiglett Beetle Potter is wanted by the Ministry of Magic for existing."

"You're calling your poor baby that?" exclaimed Poppy looking scandalised.

"No, at the moment. He's Blob."

"Or Blobette," chipped in Harry.

Poppy shook her head. "I could tell you…but I won't."

"We're having a boy," Ginny declared stoutly. "I just know it."

"She's developing Trelawney like abilities as her pregnancy progresses," Harry said with a smirk.

Ginny glared at him. "Do you want to be in the spare room tonight Harry James Potter?"

"No dear," he said looking chastened. "See how she treats me, Madame. I'm henpecked." He lifted his head and winked.

"You're content, Harry and it shows." Poppy looked at her watch and gave a little gasp. "Merlin! Look at the time. I've been here for nearly two hours."

"The galleon will take you back to us when we need you. Fred and George cleverly keyed them to my presence. Hermione rigged them to vibrate in her pocket. He fished out a similar looking one of his own. I change this one and yours will react no matter how far away we are. One of us will risk a single spell."

Poppy agreed. She was going to have to mask the magical signature of this child at birth otherwise Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix might very well guess the location of it's parents. "I notice that you haven't told me where we are."

Harry's face remained serious as he replied, "And I'm not going to."

"It's for the best." Poppy gave both of the young Potters a hug. "Take care of Ginny, Harry. See that she eats properly."

"He's already fussing worse than my mother would."

"Then you're in good hands." Poppy picked up her bag and stepped out into the courtyard, grasped the galleon and said firmly. "Hogwarts infirmary." With a pop, she was gone.

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

Eight months later, Poppy returned to the cottage surrounded by trees when Ginny Potter went into labour.

"What did you tell them?" asked an anxious Harry, ushering the mediwitch into the house.

"That an Aunt on my father's side had had a series of funny turns and refused to go to St Mungos. I have a large extended family even Albus is not exactly aware of how extended. Very useful for excuses such as this. Aunt Millicent has had several funny turns of late but my sister usually deals with her tantrums. How is she?"

Harry automatically glanced up the stairs. "Scared and excited but calmer than I thought she would be."

"That's at the moment." Poppy gave the young man a knowing smirk. "But she'll be fine."

"You were right about the glowing."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Poppy said. "How brightly?"

"She was pretty bright for an hour or two," Harry admitted. "I don't think we slept that night at all and we didn't leave the house for several days after that. You said 'a couple of hours,'" he muttered. "…lasted a lot longer than that. But we saved money on our electricity bill."

"Goodness," beamed Poppy. "It just shows how much a part of magic you are. Your mother experienced similar problems with you, Harry."

"She did!" he exclaimed. "You could have told us."

"I didn't know about it until I reviewed your medical history," murmured Poppy. "It's always best to be prepared. It was reported that Lily had a standard birth with you and I know that all seven of Molly's pregnancies passed without a hitch."

"Sounds good."

"It doesn't always follow but Ginny is young and healthy and I'm not expecting any problems. Speaking of Ginny…where's my patient?"

"Upstairs." Harry led the way. "She's been having contractions for a while but they've been quite far apart. They've just begun speeding up." He pushed open the bedroom door. "Hey, Ginny-love. Poppy's here for the main show."

"Good evening, Ginny," said the mediwitch cheerfully, pulling her medical bag from her pocket, unshrinking it and placing it on top of the chest of drawers. "I see that things have finally started moving. But we could still be a while yet."

"Finally," Ginny managed with a gasp. "They tell you it's painful. They didn't tell you that it was this painful."

Poppy smiled sympathetically and began running her wand across Ginny's swollen abdomen. "What did you tell your doctor?"

"We haven't told him anything yet," said Harry. "Ginny did say that she wanted to deliver at home but it was considered to be too much work for the medical services – we would probably have had to have the midwife staying here and I was reluctant, just in case anything 'magical' happened. Ginny's a week late as it is. If nothing had happened by next Tuesday they would have taken her in to hospital and induced her."

"I didn't want that," Ginny said breathlessly. "I did spend a week literally glowing. You were right on that one. Plus, the levitating objects phenomena hasn't stopped. If anything its just got worse."

She bent over breathing hard as another contraction hit her and as she did so, a vase shattered on a shelf close to the bed. "See."

"We were going to wait until the baby was born and then say that it came too quickly before we could get to the hospital. It's at least a half hour drive from here."

"Just relax, Ginny." Poppy glanced across at her patient. "If that's possible." She pulled out several small dishes from her bag and laid them at points around the bed. Each dish contained a small amount of what looked like herbs. Lifting her wand she murmured a soft incantation causing the herbs to burn leaving a fine powder.

"What…" Harry began but subsided at Poppy's expression.

"Go and hold Ginny's hand, Harry and stay with the runic markings once I've drawn them. This baby is part of you both," she directed. "Good." Using her wand, Poppy began to draw runes on the wooden floor at various points around the bed, chanting as she did so. Once she'd finished she looked at the young couple. "This should keep the baby safe. His magic is contained within the family. When he is ready to be known his name will appear on the register at Hogwarts and at the Ministry."

"Thank you, Poppy," Harry whispered gratefully. "We'll never forget this."

Ginny grinned. "You said 'he'. I knew we were having a boy."

"I'm having a son!" Harry exclaimed, his smile wider than Poppy had ever seen it. He wasn't wearing his contact lenses and the famous green eyes shone with happiness behind the familiar spectacles. "I love you, Ginny."

Poppy, wiping a tear from her eye wondered how anyone had thought to part these two. They belonged together.

Five hours later, James Arthur Potter was born and two pieces of parchment, one locked in a desk in an elegant study and the other shoved in a drawer in a messy family room, faded into blankness.

The quill, which marked the entries in the register of births at the Ministry for Magic and at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, twitched and then stilled.

23


	22. Chapter 22

The Unbreakable Vow C

**The Unbreakable Vow 22**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Present Time **

The early winter sun shone coldly down on Harry's head as he locked his car. He gave his concealed wand holster a pat and pulled his jacket on. It was colder outside than it looked. He could have attempted a warming charm but he was reluctant to use magic for such trivial means yet. He was a wizard and it was time that he and Ginny returned home but he wouldn't risk his family for anything. If there was any doubt, they would remain in the Muggle world.

Covered by his invisibility cloak, Harry skirted around the trees to where Ginny had said that the coloured lights had come from. Through the densely packed forestry he could see the exact place where the other car had come to grief against the trunk of a silver birch tree. Little pieces of glass and plastic still littered the ground even though the damaged car had already been removed.

The Muggle police had clearly been more efficient than Harry had thought they would be and must have taken away the damaged vehicle early in the morning. Perhaps they'd even investigated the site late last night after Ginny had informed them of the incident. The road wasn't a busy one but it was used during the day, especially by farming traffic, and the police would have wanted it cleared as soon as possible. And they hadn't wasted any time – anything that might have given Harry a clue to the origins of the coloured lights had gone.

That is, if wizards were responsible for the accident and he was certain that, inadvertently, they were. How could you explain the inexplicable to a Muggle? The answer was that he could not. They would think that he was completely in need of psychiatric help. In Harry's opinion, viewing the scenes from Ginny's memory in the Pensieve would still give the police little to go on. Not that such a thing would ever happen.

The rational, non-magical explanation was that someone had set fireworks off as a prank. Fireworks left evidence if you knew where to look. Harry had lit fireworks for Jamie on Bonfire Night last year. Jamie would enjoy things even more this time around. He'd already bought sparklers for his son to hold even though he suspected that Ginny would veto such an idea. Jamie was perhaps still too young to be truly involved but Harry could still hold the sparklers for him.

Harry now needed to do his job, the one he'd begun unofficially training for before he'd left the magical world. It had been no secret that he had wanted to become an Auror and catch dark wizards. Voldemort's curse had, only temporarily in Harry's mind, delayed his eventual training. He still wanted to become an Auror and had continued to study as much as he could without magic in exile.

He did sometimes think that wizards relied too much on magic to solve their problems and sometimes you could discover almost as much by working the Muggle way – by using your eyes and mind. He and Ginny had become addicted to some of the detective programmes on the television. The wizarding world had nothing like it. Forensic Magic was a very new branch of study and hadn't yet become popular in the Auror training academies.

The police had already investigated this area, which made his sleuthing more difficult. But in a strange way, they'd helped him too. Some of the trees had been marked as evidence. Little chalk crosses adorning several knotted trunks showed the possible path that the perpetrators of this crime had supposedly taken. And it was a crime. An innocent man had almost died.

And more importantly, _Ginny_ could have been severely hurt. His heart thudded into his throat and he swallowed feeling sick. She and Jamie could have been killed. The world they'd left five years before had insinuated itself back into their lives with ill grace.

Harry took a deep breath and began glancing around him assessing the damage done. Branches had been snapped off certain trees showing the path taken and the ground underfoot had been well trampled at one point. Several individuals had flattened an entire area of vegetation behind a large tree The destruction of the forest was minimal and yet, Harry still saw it as exactly that - destruction. With a quick glance at his wristwatch, noting that it was after eleven, he turned to go. It was later than he thought and he'd spent more than enough time tramping fruitlessly around the forest. His shoulders slumped in disappointment. There was nothing left for him to find. These wizards had known what they were doing. All he'd needed would have been one little clue – one tiny mistake.

Suddenly, something caught his eye and he peered down at his feet. Harry scowled. It was just a torn sweet wrapper… He stiffened, his hand reaching to pick up the small piece of evidence. The police had missed this, or not considered it important enough. They were probably right. He was about to discard the scrap of paper when something familiar about the lettering caught his eye.

_Honeyd…_

Harry's eyes widened. Could it be Honeydukes? It looked like a torn strip of paper from a Honeydukes chocolate wrapper. He tried to recall the last time he'd eaten the wizard confectionary. Poppy had given him a bar for emergencies but he hadn't kept it long. The colours were the same and if that was the case, then this was almost certainly a Honeydukes chocolate bar and not a Muggle sweet. It confirmed what he already suspected – wizards had walked in these woods. It still wasn't enough. Harry wanted to know who they were and why they'd been here.

_Crack!_

The sound of a twig snapping close to his position echoed through the wood and Harry froze. He wasn't alone – there was someone here? Suddenly a bird flew up into the air with an indignant squawk and the young man relaxed, emitting a small chuckle. This whole situation had got him and Ginny more nervous than Scabbers, the rat, when Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, was around and on the prowl.

He and Ginny had intentionally heard very little about the wizarding world for five years. Their contact with their former friends had been limited to Poppy Pomfrey on just two occasions. The first was when they contacted the mediwitch early in Ginny's pregnancy and the second, on the night that Jamie had been born. Obviously Poppy knew about Jamie but she didn't know where the little family had been hiding. They hadn't told and she hadn't asked. There was no way that anyone _could_ have discovered their location. He and Ginny had used almost no magic at all in their entire time in exile – nothing to draw magical creatures or Ministry tracking wizards towards them. This reappearance of magic in their lives had to have been a coincidence but that didn't make it any more reassuring.

The Pensieve had shown that spells had been cast but not by whom. There was no way of identifying the culprits or speculating on the reasons why they had been in this part of Scotland in the first place. The location of Harry's home had been selected for the reason that it wasn't too close to any noted areas of wizarding interest.

Ginny hadn't seen anyone hiding by the roadside. But then, anyone driving a car tended to have their eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead and not on what was coming at them from out of the trees.

If there had been any remaining clues, the Muggle police had probably removed or inadvertently obliterated them all. Harry decided that he might as well return home. Ginny hadn't been feeling well this morning and he wasn't surprised. She'd woken up several times through the night, her sleep restless and uneasy. He had held her close as she'd shivered and cried. Perhaps he'd take her into town to see the doctor. It was possible that she was suffering from delayed shock. She'd been very calm about it all last night – too calm - but he had been prepared for a reaction. It was inevitable. This was the first time in five years that their safety had been threatened by the magical world.

She would recover quickly with his and Jamie's love and support and the security of her home and family around her. He knew his brave witch disliked feeling helpless. He'd phoned into work himself earlier on, explained the situation and taken the day off to be with his wife. The town they worked in and lived close to was small enough for the accident to be big news in the local paper. His boss had understood and had actually given him the week off if he needed it. He would take a couple of days. Ginny was strong and would not appreciate him smothering her with his concern.

Ducking under the low hanging branch of a lop-sided Scots Pine, Harry made his way back to where he'd left the car. It was unlikely that he would discover anything more but he scanned the area again just to make sure. No, there was nothing more to find and it was long past the time for him to return home and check on his wife and son. He could see the faint gleam of the car windscreen in the mid-morning sunshine and hurrying, stepped over a fallen tree trunk. Unexpectedly, his foot connected with something soft that, when he looked down, just wasn't there and his long-dormant scar gave a throb of pain.

"What!" he exclaimed quietly, lifting up his foot and was disconcerted to hear a faint groan. In his estimation, logs were inanimate objects and did not emit sound – even in the wizarding world.

Making sure he was completely covered by his invisibility cloak, Harry reached down and found that he was clutching at something solid, yet soft. Carefully, he moved his hand and caught the edge of a lighter fabric, one which was very similar to the cloth draped over his own head. There was someone lying in front of him draped in an invisibility cloak of their own. That someone had probably been stunned or knocked unconscious and was now awakening painfully, if the groans were anything to go by. Underneath was someone clad in a thick woollen fabric, the kind normally used in the manufacture of wizarding cloaks.

He felt once again for his wand holster. He hadn't used his wand for over five years but there was a time for being careful with his magic and he reckoned that this wasn't it. His family's safety had been threatened and he had to deal with the problem. He had to believe that he had thrown off the effects of Voldemort's curse and was able to take his place in the world of magic once more. To believe anything else would be foolish.

Drawing on the familiar feeling that he'd once taken for granted, Harry prepared to defend himself if necessary. He could feel the returning magic crackling around him now and he finally realised why the lights and other electrics in the house were beginning to play up. They'd worked quite well with only one magical being around but now that there were two of them in the house – and, unknown to him, Harry's power was maturing all the quicker for the hiatus he'd endured – the magic was interfering with the electricity. A smile crept on to his face. There were three magical beings in his household, not two. Jamie's temper tantrum levitations were not the actions of a Squib.

His fingers nervously touched the edge of his wand and suddenly he felt the warmth that he'd experienced the very first time he'd held it in Ollivander's. He grabbed the wand and exhaled with relief as the wand emitted a shower of red and gold sparks granting him permission to proceed. He had his magic back. He knew it. It was back and as strong as it had been before Voldemort fired that curse.

There was another faint groan.

Harry squared his shoulders. This wasn't the time to be enjoying the return of his magic, not when there was a probable enemy lying at his feet - possibly with a wand. Any witch or wizard could be dangerous when cornered.

He slipped his wand from its holster, clutching it with sweating fingers and with his other hand, pulled away the invisibility cloak covering the prone figure of a man dressed in black wizarding robes.

It was official. He had a stunned but awakening wizard at his feet. One of Harry's worst nightmares, apart from the usual Voldemort-sent visions, was the one where his carefully constructed life as an ordinary Muggle with his family began to unravel once more. He could not leave him here. If he was a Death Eater, he needed to be in Ministry custody. If he was one of Dumbledore's men then he couldn't be allowed to see Harry's face but would need treatment as quickly as possible.

He took an involuntary step away from the figure until he realised that the unknown wizard had stopped making any noise and still wasn't moving. Harry could see a deep gash of the side of the man's pale, bruised face and limp, dark hair was matted with dried blood. Reluctantly, Harry bent forward over the prone figure, his wand almost at the man's chin, and gingerly lifted a lock of midnight-black hair away from the pallid face.

"Oh!" he exclaimed in a shocked whisper as he jerked away from the fallen wizard. "Merlin's…" He snapped his mouth shut. It was a man Harry recognised – the hooked nose couldn't belong to anyone else. Someone he hadn't seen for five years and the last person Harry would have expected to see lying unconscious in a Scottish wood not far from his and Ginny's safe haven. It was Severus Snape, his former Potions professor and spy for the Order of the Phoenix. He wasn't moving.

"Shit!" he muttered, his heart suddenly thudding loudly inside his chest. "Shit, shit, shit!" He hadn't expected this at all. Had Snape been looking for him? Had their location been discovered? Had Snape been working for Voldemort or Dumbledore on this occasion?

Carefully Harry rolled Snape over to try and assess the extent of his injuries. The bank where he worked had sent him to a first aid course a while back so Harry knew some rudimentary Muggle healing. But this man wasn't a Muggle. He may have had a Muggle father but no one could deny that Snape was the complete wizard even if he was unpleasant. Snape had been lying out in the open, probably since the previous evening. Covering him with the invisibility cloak was a sure indicator that whoever had attacked him hadn't intended for Severus Snape to be found. "Well, I guess that puts paid to the idea that he was looking for me." There would either be a queue of Voldemort's little friends with him or half of the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry felt for the man's pulse. It was faint but it was there. He was still breathing. If Snape had been taking part in a Death Eater's meeting, something had gone very wrong. Harry needed to get him to Poppy at Hogwarts immediately. He ran quickly back to the car and collected the meagre first aid kit and began carefully to clean the blood on Snape's forehead. As he began to check the Professor for any other serious injury, Harry saw something that made his blood grow cold. Snape's left forearm which had once contained the Dark Mark was slashed ruthlessly from wrist to elbow. Luckily whoever had done it had missed any important arteries or Snape would have bled to death before anyone had found him. They'd been intent on causing the maximum amount of pain with the least effort.

So Snape had finally been found out as a spy. Why else would they have tried to destroy his mark and leave him for dead? It was the only conclusion Harry could logically come to and if that was the case…

Harry's hand went to his own forearm where Pettigrew had taken his blood forcibly to aid in the first resurrection of Voldemort. He swallowed, feeling sick. Snape's injuries looked horribly familiar. He willed away his nausea and suddenly, the faint ache around the area of his scar burst with a short searing pain.

"Dark…Lord," Snape murmured, his eyelashes flickering.

Yes, Harry thought darkly. Voldemort was corporeal once again but that could wait - Snape's condition could not.

"Professor…your arm…what happened?" he asked. "Professor…?" But Snape had lapsed back into unconsciousness and wasn't in any condition to answer him. "So the Dark Lord's finally back," Harry muttered, calling up his long dormant Occlumency shields and the pain receded once more. "Voldemort's back and I'm assuming that he now knows for certain that Snape's on Dumbledore's side. Ginny, Jamie and I… we're not safe any more." There was also the realistic chance that Voldemort could track Harry through his scar.

Weighing up all the possibilities, Harry decided to portkey the professor to Hogwarts and hoped that his magic was up to the task. He may not have been able to perform any spells for over five years but he'd taken a leaf out of Hermione's book and had read diligently. He wasn't going to be caught unawares. Not when he'd a family to protect and a future to live for. The only other option was to drive into town and take Snape to the local hospital. He could see problems with that idea from the start. How do you explain to a doctor in casualty that you just found this man in the woods and if he tries to hex you, just ignore him?

No, he had to get Snape to Hogwarts.

"Portus," he murmured, tapping a fifty pence piece in his pocket. The seven-sided coin glowed. Harry waited for the dizziness and the inevitable headache that had always happened before he left the wizarding world. His head felt fine – he felt fine. He had his magic back.

Harry wasn't so cocksure as to think his recovery was complete but this was more than he'd hoped for. Poppy had reluctantly uttered terms like "ten years or more but at least he would eventually recover his power." She'd saved him and he owed her a debt that he could only repay by finishing off Voldemort for good. If the prophecy was indeed true then Poppy Pomfrey could have saved the entire wizarding world by saving Harry's magic.

"Yes," he hissed exultantly. "Hogwarts," he said clearly, tapping the fifty pence piece with his wand, before pressing the coin between Snape's fingers. The Potions Professor vanished.

Harry checked the time on his watch once again and decided that he needed to get back to his wife and son immediately before she did something rash and called out the police. The nice anonymous 'Peters' family didn't want or need such notoriety. He didn't think that the local constabulary would be best pleased when a civilian was found to be wandering around a crime scene looking for clues so that he could take matters into his own hands.

But then the local constabulary were not prepared to battle dark wizards.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

The Dark Lord hadn't cared how long the traitorous spy, Severus Snape, took to die. Only that he did and in as much pain as was possible. Five years had passed as he'd lain weak and helpless. He'd been left to possess lesser beings in order to survive for five years while the traitor, Snape and the insignificant, obsequious Pettigrew, had the information at their fingertips. He'd survived before but it had not been part of his plans for a second time.

"Get this worthless, snivelling fool out of my sight," the Dark Lord had commanded, after he had commemorated his return to solid form by subjecting Snape to several bouts of the Cruciatus Curse. There had been no one else available for him to truly vent his spleen on. Unfortunately Peter Pettigrew had been killed during the Hogsmeade fight that had temporarily cost Voldemort his body. No one had been truly sorry to see Pettigrew's demise, even his colleagues currently in the service of the Dark Lord, hadn't spared any regrets for the rat animagus.

If Bellatrix hadn't found a tattered and yellowing piece of parchment in the Malfoy library, containing the method and guidelines to completing the ritual on one of her mad rampages through her sister's house, he could still have been without form. It had taken the sharp eye and keen mind of Lucius Malfoy for them to realise what they had found.

For his part in his Master's recovery, Lucius Malfoy had again managed to wriggle out of the usual 'torture into madness' punishment and had had left for London on Ministry business, leaving the rest of the available faithful to finish the game. Voldemort had not trusted him with the secret of his immortality and the flaxen-haired wizard knew it. Malfoy was a clever, scheming wizard but he was not one to trust. The Family Malfoy looked out for themselves first.

To give Snape an unrealistic but sporting chance, the remaining Death Eaters had placed anti-apparition wards around an area of forest decided by Bellatrix Lestrange spitting on a map of the British Isles. The area where the globule of spit landed was the preferred location for the last minutes of Snape's life. By the time they had port-keyed Snape to the location the Dark Lord's attention had been on other things.

Snape had been too weak to run far and they had taunted him by throwing stunners and stinging hexes after him. Eventually, the traitorous Hogwarts' Potions Professor been caught with a cutting curse and had gone down heavily. They would have left him there to rot but he had in his possession a rather fine invisibility cloak. Such articles were rare and valuable and Snape, being more intelligent than most, had somehow anchored the cloak to his person. Once he was dead, it could be removed. In the meantime, they'd covered him with the invisibility cloak. They couldn't remove it more than a foot from his body owing to a charm Snape had placed upon it. So they'd thrown it over him to prevent his body being discovered and would return for it later.

The chasing pack of wizards had marked the way they'd travelled through the forest by placing small chalk crosses on the trees with their wands.

"What about his wand?" Amycus Carrow asked his companion, as they apparated back to the location the following day.

"Break it," sneered Perronus Mulciber. "He's dead by now and won't be needing it. I can't see anyone else being able to use Snape's wand."

"You would be surprised but I suspect that you're right on this one," said the squat wizard in a superior fashion. "Wands are tricky customers. And as old Ollivander told us when we went to get our first wands, it's the 'wand that chooses the wizard.'" He batted away a swarm of small insects. "Merlin preserve me from Scottish wildlife. Shouldn't these insects be hibernating at this time of the year?"

"Where exactly did we leave the traitor?" asked Mulciber, standing knee deep in a clump of dark green ferns, a frown on his narrow face.

"I think it was behind the next tree. I had consumed rather a lot of Malfoy's best firewhisky. He's not normally so free with the stuff." He checked his bearings and gave a sharp nod and pointed. "If you step over that fallen trunk, he should be stashed behind it." Carrow was checking the barks of the trees they passed for the chalk markings.

"Okay, I think I see it," mumbled Mulciber. "Snape did our Master one final service."

"Yeah." Carrow gave an evil chuckle. "He didn't die in vain. His blood returned our Lord to life."

"He knew all along what to do. Our Master wasted five years in the wilderness until the correct means for his return were procured. Snape, the bastard, knew all along and didn't tell us." Mulciber wanted to give the body another kick. It wouldn't kill Snape any more than he was already dead but it would make him feel better. None of the Dark Lord's inner circle had been totally convinced of Snape's loyalty. He'd passed information to Dumbledore at their Master's behest but Mulciber, and indeed the Dark Lord himself, had always been suspicious of Snape's closeness to the headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Let's get the cloak, check he's really dead and get out of here," Carrow ordered.

"Fine!" snapped Mulciber. He stepped across the fallen trunk, bent down and then froze, his wand flailing about in mid air. "You are not going to believe this."

Carrow exhaled in exasperation. "Yeah, yeah, he's not there. Cut the crap. We've not got the time to fool around."

The expression on Mulciber's face had turned from superciliousness to panic as he stamped around the area as if trying to step on something large behind the fallen tree trunk. "That's just it. He _isn't_ there."

"What!" Carrow rushed towards the spot where they'd left Snape.

Mulciber pointed to the spot, the expression on his face one of sheer terror. Something had been lying there until recently. "He's gone! We are either dead or insane in St Mungos"

Carrow gulped audibly. "What do you mean gone?"

"The body's not there," Mulciber answered, visibly trembling.

"The Dark Lord will kill us," Carrow almost shrieked. "He'll use all of the unforgiveables and then feed us to that damned snake."

Mulciber's eyes glittered febrilely as he fumbled for an explanation that would satisfy the Dark Lord. "Not if we don't tell him. Not if we say that we found the body and we buried it."

"He'll want proof," Carrow insisted, dropping to his knees and reaching through the undergrowth to see if Snape had possibly crawled away. "Only Snape's wand or his invisibility cloak will be sufficient. Saying that he's dead isn't enough."

Mulciber twirled a thin piece of wood between his fingers. "We have his wand, you dolt."

Carrow shrugged. "Yes, we do, but if Severus turns up in Diagon Alley asking old Ollivander for a new wand, then we'll be found out. What happens if our Lord finds out that we lied to him?"

"Snape's dead," Mulciber declared. "Deader than Merlin. There's no way he could even move by the time we were finished with him. We just lost the tree we left him under. We can come back another day and have another look."

"Bit of a shock for the Muggle that eventually finds him if we don't," sniggered Carrow, suddenly finding the situation amusing.

"Whatever happens, Snape is ineffective. He can hardly spy against us for the bearded old fool in Hogwarts now." Mulciber wiped all traces of amusement from his face. "We've been here long enough. I have an appointment with Lucius at the Ministry. We need to get away from here now."

"I still think we should have another look for Severus," Carrow muttered. "I could try a 'point me' spell."

Mulciber scowled but nodded. "Do it," he growled.

"Point me, Severus Snape," Carrow declared. The wand barely twitched.

"I told you, he's dead," snapped Mulciber. "And if he's not, he'd better get that way very quickly." With a faint pop, he apparated away.

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

**Hogwarts**

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk drumming his long fingers against the polished wood. He had to admit to himself that he was worried. Two days ago Severus Snape had been called to a meeting by Lucius Malfoy. There was nothing peculiar about that occurrence. Those supposedly loyal to Voldemort and not in Azkaban met on a semi-regular basis. They disguised it by calling it a gathering of friends or an evening to celebrate some anniversary or other. Severus would depart in his dress robes and return hours later, scowling with suppressed anger at some real or imagined slight, but mercifully free from the after-effects of the Cruciatus curse.

This time was different. Severus had not returned to the castle after a couple of hours like he usually did. Two days later, he was still unaccounted for. Either, it had been one hell of a Halloween party or his Potions Professor was in trouble.

"Albus?"

"Yes, Minerva."

"No word?"

The headmaster shook his head wearily. "Nothing. I don't like it. He's never been gone this long before without telling us. Not since…not since…."

The witch sniffed. "No, not since You-know-who was last in corporeal form."

If he hadn't been so concerned about Severus, he would have smiled. Minerva had a way of expressing her opinions that was unique. "And you think…"

The head of Gryffindor house sighed. "I don't know what I really think but I suspect '_He's_' back and we'll be hearing about it very soon."

"I agree. It's been five years, Minerva, since Harry dispatched him once again. We expected Voldemort to return long before this. His followers should have known how to perform the ritual that would bring him back to his full powers once more."

Minerva McGonagall winced at the mention of Voldemort's name. "They don't have Harry," she said.

Dumbledore glanced at one of the silent silver instruments on his desk. "We don't know that."

"They _can't_ have him," she said, her severe face showing her distress. She had been fond of Harry and hadn't always agreed with how Albus had dealt with his situation. "We would have heard something." Minerva didn't add that their golden boy, their one chance at defeating Voldemort, could quite easily be dead. She didn't have to.

Dumbledore sighed, suddenly looking old and frail. "Harry…" He contemplated a blank piece of parchment on his desk. "I agree. It's one of the things that still keeps me sane. He's out there somewhere. I just wish…"

"You made a mistake, Albus," Minerva said. "You tried to keep things from him – too much. Trust has to be earned and you lost his."

"I know. But I wanted to give him a childhood."

"And you sent him to Petunia!" Minerva shook her head. "He never got that childhood with his Aunt. He was unaware of his fame which we agreed would be a good thing but he received no love and little care. And you wanted to send him back there without his magic." The headmaster had reluctantly told his Deputy Head about the curse Voldemort had thrown at Harry.

Dumbledore closed his eyes as if to block out the pain. "I wanted to keep him safe."

"He's an adult, Albus, and has the right to make his own decisions. As for Severus," she began. "You've not dealt with him the way that you should have either."

Severus Snape was a difficult man to like but Minerva respected him even if she disagreed with the way he often treated the pupils not in Slytherin House. He was a colleague and a fellow member of the Order and had probably risked his life in the cause against Voldemort more than any of them but she couldn't call him a friend. "Severus will return, Albus. He always has before." Minerva tried to reassure him.

"I know he has but something's wrong this time - I can feel it - and then of course…it's Halloween." Dumbledore lifted his head and gazed at Minerva. He didn't have to say anything else.

The Transfiguration teacher closed her eyes for a moment. She didn't set much store in Divination for true seers were rare. Still, not for nothing was Dumbledore considered to be the greatest wizard of his age. "Halloween," she whispered. "Oh, Albus. Halloween has special connotations for all, not just as an important celebration but as the anniversary of his first defeat. Voldemort and his followers would find such a date for his return poetic."

Albus nodded and opened his mouth to say something when a strange chime sounded in the office. "It's the wards," he muttered getting to his feet. He glanced at one of the gizmos sitting on his desk. "A portkey has deposited someone just outside the wards."

Minerva had already opened the office door. "I'll send Filch."

"No, I would rather you go, Minerva. Just in case that it is Severus. I would not want Argus to be put in the position of having to be Obliviated."

Minerva nodded and disappeared down the stairs. The cantankerous Squib caretaker could not be trusted with such information.

Albus moved to the fireplace and called, "Poppy?"

Poppy Pomfrey heard the summons and hastened to answer it. "Yes, Albus?"

The headmaster looked worried. "I think that Severus has returned from his 'meeting' and I suspect that he may be in need of treatment."

Poppy's mouth dropped open in horror. She'd treated the Potions Professor and other members of the Order of the Phoenix through both of the previous conflicts. "It's starting again?"

There was no twinkle in the famous blue eyes. "I suspect that it is. I could be wrong but I doubt it. I'm surprised our respite has lasted this long. But there have been strange tales of evil rising once more in dark places. It's the only explanation."

Poppy nodded, her face tight with worry. "I'll make ready one of the private rooms." It was still term time and there were often children in the infirmary.

Albus discerned a bright flare of light behind the mediwitch and noted that Poppy glanced nervously behind her. "What's happening?"

"That was Minerva's Patronus," she answered tersely. "You were right. Professor Snape's unconscious body was found just outside the school gates. She's conjured a stretcher and is transporting him to the castle."

"I'm on my way," Dumbledore assured her.

"Hurry," she ordered.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Severus Snape groaned as pain worse than any Cruciatus curse encompassed his entire body. He'd thought that he was dead for sure. If he _was_ dead then he shouldn't hurt this much. Severus reluctantly came to the conclusion that he was still alive and if he was still alive then... No, it had to be another nightmare.

"Severus," the voice murmured quietly. It was gentle…familiar.

Severus tried to open his eyes but it was too much work. "I…"

"Albus, I said to leave him alone for now," Poppy declared tartly in full nurse mode. "I've poured too many potions down his throat. I'm not surprised that he's feeling a little groggy."

"No…" The Potions Professor stopped. He was at Hogwarts?

A firm hand pulled at his chin and tipped a glass to his lips. "Drink, Severus. This is a Dreamless Sleep Potion."

He was at Hogwarts. Thank Merlin! His tongue felt swollen inside his mouth and the pain… It was indescribable. He groaned again, feeling sick.

Poppy placed a soft damp cloth against Snape's forehead. "This has been soaked in a potion of your own making, Severus," she said quietly. "It contains a mixture of a calming solution and a post-Cruciatus antidote. I cannot give you any more pain-killing potions for another few hours."

"Better," he managed to say, attempting to open his eyes.

"Now relax and sleep. You are safe," the witch said soothingly. "That's it," she encouraged as heavy eyelids began to droop over the dark eyes. "Good."

Severus Snape finally gave in and let the potions do what they'd been created for.

"Is he asleep?" Minerva McGonagall stepped forward to stand beside Albus. She'd been watching from the sidelines, content to let Poppy do her work.

"Yes. He didn't want to relax at all."

"That's Severus for you," Minerva said regretfully. "I don't think I've ever seen him truly relax. He was like that as a child - as stiff and unbending as they come."

"I remember," Poppy said, remembering a pale, thin boy peering at the world from behind his overlong, limp, black hair. A boy, who at the age of eleven, had arrived at Hogwarts knowing far too many dark curses than was proper.

"When will he be able to talk?" Dumbledore asked.

"Maybe tomorrow or the day after that, if you don't overtax him," Poppy said reluctantly. "If I had my way, none of you would be able to ask him anything for at least a week but I know that I'm wishing on Leprechaun gold for that to happen. Albus, he's lucky to be alive."

Dumbledore pressed his lips together and nodded. "Call me when he awakens."

"Of course," Poppy answered. But it would be two days before the Potions Professor awoke again.

_**xxxxxxx**_

The next time that Severus Snape opened his eyes, it was on a bright, cold November morning in his bed in the Hogwarts infirmary. He was still alive but there wasn't a part of him that didn't hurt. He muttered a curse beneath his carefully indrawn breath. There was strapping around his ribs and his left forearm was swathed in white bandages. By all of Merlin's withered dangly bits – he was in pain.

"Severus!" Poppy Pomfrey bustled up to his side. "Finally!"

"Leave…me…alone," he gritted between his teeth. If there was one thing that Snape hated, it was to be fussed over.

"Now, Severus," the woman said briskly. "If you would just open your mouth and swallow these potions then you'll feel a lot better." She placed a vial to his pale lips. "Come now, swallow."

"I…should…be…dead…" He said, once he had done as she requested.

"You're alive and at Hogwarts. I've given you another Dreamless Sleep potion. Your body needs more time to heal."

"Want to remember. Tell Albus…"

"You need to rest," she instructed firmly. Severus had never dealt well with sympathy. But she'd known him since he was a child. Firmness and the occasional threat worked wonders.

Snape closed his eyes with something approaching relief. He wasn't ready to relive what had happened to him. He wasn't even sure that he could remember enough to do so. But he should have been dead. They had wanted him dead and had left him alone to die. He'd even accepted his fate, although the dreaming of James Potter, his hated childhood enemy, guiding him towards the afterlife was rather unfair.

Mulciber and Carrow had done their level best to end his existence and had dumped him, wrapped in an invisibility cloak, Merlin knows where. Somehow he'd managed to return to Hogwarts and safety.

At first, he couldn't remember anything and then a memory of shivering on a dank forest floor, with the blurred figure of a young bespectacled man showing him to his inevitable death. He managed a soft snort of cynical amusement and then regretted his action as his whole body just ached.

Here at the beginning, or was it the end? James Potter had been about to point him the way forward and it would have been so easy just to follow him.

Potter's shade had leaned towards him and given a gasp of horror. "Professor…your arm. What happened?" There was a moment and then the young man had produced his wand whispered. "Portus" and pressed something between his fingers. He'd also mumbled something else but his ears hadn't managed to process what was said.

"Dark Lord…back," he murmured sleepily. Poppy's potions were beginning to take effect. But he could still remember the bright gleam of Potter's green eyes as he'd incanted the spell.

'_Green eyes!' _

He struggled to swim back to the surface of consciousness but the enchantments laced into the medicines were too strong. James Potter didn't have green eyes. James Potter would never have called him 'Professor'. "Albus…"

"Ssh…It will keep."

"I must…tell…Al…" Snape lost the fight and slept.

Poppy gazed at her patient with worry. She'd heard his words. '_Dark Lord…back_.' And she was quite aware of what had been removed from his left forearm. She moved to her office to Floo the headmaster. He would want to know that Severus had awakened. He might not be pleased that she'd immediately dosed him with a sleeping draught once again but Albus and his 'greater good' philosophy could wait a few more hours. Her patient's health came first.

When the Potions Professor opened his eyes again several hours later, it was to find the headmaster dozing in a chair by his bedside.

"Albus…" he managed to say in a voice husky from too much screaming.

The headmaster's eyes snapped open. "My dear boy," he beamed. "We thought you were never going to wake up again."

"I…thought that too," he admitted. He swallowed. "Water…"

"Of course." Dumbledore brought a glass to Snape's lips. "Just sip it," Albus instructed. "Carefully now."

"Thank you." Severus let his head fall back against his pillow. "I thought I was dying," his whispered painfully. "I was dying and then who should I see but James Potter. Why could it not have been…?"

"Lily?" asked the headmaster. "I don't know. Who can predict what we see in the halfway point between life and death."

Snape eased his heavily bandaged arm from beneath the bedclothes. "My arm…"

"As you no doubt remember, someone tried to remove your dark mark by non-magical means and nearly succeeded in removing you from this world altogether. You lost a lot of blood." He got up from the chair. "Poppy is going to bring you a nutrient potion and then you must rest. I'm glad that you're back with us even if I know what your injuries mean to our world."

The two wizards shared a look. Snape would not be spying for the Order of the Phoenix against Voldemort in this coming conflict.

Dumbledore smoothed his long white beard with his aged hands. "We still need your expertise in many areas, Severus. No one has the depth of knowledge of Voldemort and his followers' methods like you do. We also need your potion brewing skills. There will be other ways in which you can aid our cause."

"I'm tired of resting," Snape said peevishly, his brow furrowed in a scowl. "I have potions to prepare and classes to teach."

"Not yet," the headmaster admonished gently. "Madam Pomfrey wants to keep you under observation for a little while longer."

"Meddlesome old witch," Snape griped. "Albus…"

"It will keep. Poppy will have my head for her burn paste if I keep you talking any longer."

Snape reached out and grabbed the edge of the Headmaster's trailing sleeve. "This is important," he gritted between clenched teeth.

"Tom Riddle's return will keep for a day or two longer." Dumbledore smoothed his long white beard and took a step towards the infirmary door.

"No, Albus, wait!" Severus rasped. "This _won't_ keep and is far more important than you realise. This is not about the Dark Lord."

The aged wizard frowned. What could be more important than the second resurrection of Voldemort? He stared at the pale-faced wizard in the bed and sat back down again. "Go ahead."

"James Potter did not have green eyes," Snape said faintly.

"No, his eyes were brown," Dumbledore said, wondering where Severus was going with this train of thought.

"The Potter that I thought was about to guide me to the afterlife had green eyes."

Albus Dumbledore could still be surprised but this piece of news was more than surprising – it was astonishing. His first thought was that Harry was dead and the wizarding world was doomed. His heart thumped and his hands began trembling until another thought struck him and he glanced at the fifty pence piece that Poppy had taken from Severus when he'd arrived back at Hogwarts. The coin had been the portkey used. The coin was from the Muggle world. He felt the edges beneath his fingers. It was real and could not have been used by a phantom. "Harry," he breathed, hope suddenly lifting a shadow from his careworn face. "You think that somehow, Harry helped you return – our Harry?"

"It's a possibility." Snape looked as if he'd just swallowed one of his own worst potions.

Dumbledore's face paled. "Then he's with…"

"No, I do not think that he is. I have not seen him before this at any of the gatherings and he was not with the others. He seemed…" Severus paused. "I do not know where I was found. I went to Malfoy Manor as is usual for these events. I recall a Muggle graveyard…"

"Little Hangleton," said Dumbledore. "Voldemort's father is buried there."

Snape nodded slowly. "Now that I'm feeling better I recall that Potter seemed shocked to find me."

The old wizard smiled with a certain amount of relief. It could have been much worse. Severus could have died and yet, Harry Potter had answered a call for help without realising that he needed to. Destiny was clearly not going to be denied. "Fate?"

"Perhaps." Snape closed his eyes as a wave of pain swept through him. But on reflection, he thought that it wasn't as bad as it had been. He was recovering from his injuries but even he knew that it was going to take time.

Poppy, registering that the voices in the private room were conversing, came hurrying from her office. "I did not realise you were awake, Severus." She turned to the headmaster and scolded, "You should have called me and told me that he was awake. He has more potions to take and then he must rest."

"Merlin's sake, woman!" Snape hissed with a little of his old asperity. "You've been pouring the stuff down my throat and forcing me to rest since I got here. You could leave me alone for five minutes. This is something that the headmaster has to hear." He managed to dredge up one of his glares. "And _only_ the headmaster."

"Well!" the mediwitch huffed. "Five minutes only," she stated, a determined look in her eyes. "I know that you can feel every bone in your body ache, Severus Snape."

Snape looked at her in disbelief. He didn't think that Poppy had any talent as a Legilimens.

The mediwitch gave her patient a superior smile. "And no, I didn't read your mind. I didn't need to. I've been the mediwitch in this school since before you were born, Severus Snape." She twitched his bedclothes into place and swept away towards her office without another word. Albus Dumbledore may be the headmaster of the greatest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world but this was _her_ infirmary.

_**XXXXXXXXXXX**_

"Ginny!" Harry leapt out of the car and ran into the house. "Ginny!" He moved swiftly into the kitchen only to find it empty. "Ginny!" Where was she?

"What!" Ginny came down the stairs, Jamie balanced on her hip, her expression anxious. "You found something," she stated.

Harry gave a sharp nod. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Dad!" shouted Jamie, his face lighting up with glee at the sight of his father, his pudgy little hands stretched out towards him. "Dad."

"I'm fine," she answered. She studied Harry's closed expression. He'd found more than he'd obviously expected. "What's wrong? Don't say 'nothing'. I wouldn't believe you, if you did."

"I wouldn't insult your intelligence," Harry said, his gaze scanning her face and figure. She still looked a little pale but he could see that her eyes were bright and clear. He let his wand slide into his hand and gave a little shrug. "It's starting again."

"You're sure," Ginny asked, her eyes flicking to the wand. She understood what he didn't need to say. The walk in the woods had backed up the evidence from the Pensieve.

"Yes." Harry gave a defeated sigh and moved the wand back into his arm holster. "You know that this means that we have to start taking magical precautions. I'd hoped that we might have a little longer but it's not going to happen – is it? We need to start warding this house immediately. I'm going to contact the Goblins immediately. I want to put this house under the Fidelius charm."

"What about the Order?" Jamie began to wriggle in his mother's arms and she placed him on the ground, where he toddled away to find his toys.

"What about them?" Harry's expression was mutinous. As far as he was concerned the Order of the Phoenix hadn't helped them at all. "I don't think they're aware of anything yet but they're going to be trying to find us pretty soon."

Ginny frowned. "I don't understand."

Harry rubbed his hand across his mouth before saying quietly, "I found Snape."

"Professor Snape!" she exclaimed. "What do you mean you 'found' Snape?"

"I almost stood on him," Harry said, looking somewhat embarrassed. "He was left for dead in the woods."

"You …" Ginny's hand went to her forehead. "Left…dead… Snape, so close to us," she whispered. "Why?"

"Death Eaters, I presume" he murmured. "He was in a bad way, Ginny. He'd been beaten and probably held under the Cruciatus curse and they'd tried to remove the dark mark from his arm. I think it's highly probable that he won't be working for Voldemort in the future."

Ginny's brown eyes widened in horror. "I need to sit down," she said faintly, feeling nauseous.

Harry put his arm around her and guided her into the family room. "I'll put the kettle on," he said, checking to see where Jamie was. But the little boy was happily playing with some blocks, building them up and knocking them down.

"Dad," Jamie said and beamed up at his father. "Dad."

"Trouble," returned Harry, with a grin, gently ruffling the child's messy black hair with his hand. The smile faded as he turned to look at his wife. Jamie was almost the same age that he had been when his parents had been killed. It was imperative that he begin to ward the property.

He finished making a pot of tea and poured it into mugs. "I think we have a few days before they start actively looking for us."

"Why do you think that?"

"Snape wasn't in any condition to talk. I'm not sure if he was even aware of me. He was unconscious for most of the time. He did say something, though," Harry offered thoughtfully, his green eyes steadily holding Ginny's. "Just two words. 'Dark Lord'."

Ginny's soft mouth trembled. "So why do you think they'll start looking for us."

"More likely to be me," Harry said carefully. He had to tell her. "There is no proof that we're even together. They may suspect it to be the case but they don't know for sure. If Voldemort's back…"

"You-know-who is back!" Ginny interrupted. "What do you mean 'he's back'? Snape just said 'Dark Lord'. That doesn't mean that V…Voldemort has returned. How…how do you know?"

Harry sighed wearily and tapped his scar. "I felt something," he admitted quietly. "That, and Snape's injuries are reminiscent of mine when Voldemort became corporeal after the Tri-wizard tournament. Someone performed the ritual to give him back his body. You remember the one, _Bone of the father_…"

Ginny swore. "Then we need to rejoin the real world – our world. We need all the protection magic can bring us."

"I agree." Harry took a deep breath. She wasn't going to like this and probably wouldn't agree to it but it was worth a try. "I will return but not you."

Ginny stiffened. "Oh, no, Harry Potter. You married me for better or worse, remember?"

"How could I ever forget? It was one of the best days of my life," he said with a beaming smile. "I'd do it again, too. You really are something special, Ginny-love."

"That doesn't get you out of it, Potter," she snapped, her temper crackling. "If you go back, so do I."

"Ginny," Harry murmured in an awed voice as he watched her trying to control her ire. "Your hair…"

"What about my hair?" she muttered. "Stop trying to change the subject, Potter." But she got to her feet and walked to the mirror. "Oh!" She lifted her hands and ran her fingers through her soft curls. Somehow, in a bout of accidental magic, her hair had returned to its glorious Weasley red.

"It's beautiful. Why did we decide to disguise it?" he asked softly.

"It's Weasley red," Ginny replied.

"Ah, but you're a Potter now." He lifted his hand to gently caress a soft shining lock.

"The word you used was 'Potter'. I'm your wife and if you return, I'm going with you. I don't trust you not to mess things up on your own." She smirked at him. "I'm the brains of this operation, remember?"

Harry chuckled. "How could I forget?"

"Harry…there's something else. I think… I think…" Ginny's hair returned to its dyed dark brown colour as her mood changed.

"What, Ginny-love?"

Ginny lifted her hand and the tin of biscuits on the counter zoomed towards her. "I think I'm pregnant, Harry."

"You are!" His face lit up in the smile she didn't see nearly enough of. "Wonderful!" He opened his arms and she moved towards him. "You and two babies! Oh, Ginny, I love you so much." He bent his head and kissed her warmly, the magic shimmering between them. "We really are a family."

"Enough of that," she murmured, blushing slightly. "That's what got me into this condition in the first place."

"Ginny," he said, his face now serious. "That makes a lot of difference. "I have to go and do this on my own. I'm not risking you and…"

"I'm pregnant, not incapacitated," she said stiffly.

Harry beamed at her. He loved this witch. Malfoy, the puny ferret, would never have been able to handle her. "Merlin, I love you and whoever else you have cooking in there."

"Orion," she said. "It's another boy."

"And you decided that…when?"

"Just now," she answered cheekily.

"Seriously Gin…" Harry began.

She sighed. He was right but she wasn't letting him go alone. "I know. We need to be safe. We have to protect Jamie. I would do the same as your mother did and give my life for my children."

Harry's mouth quirked into a lop-sided smile. "I would do the same. I never understood why my parents sacrificed themselves for me. Now that I have a son of my own, I understand perfectly. It's so straightforward, isn't it?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes," she said simply. "It is. We want the best for them even at the expense of our own lives."

Harry let go of Ginny. "I'll contact the goblins immediately."

She gave a decisive nod. "If you do that then I'll start work on the Fidelius. We have too much to lose, Harry, and I'm not prepared to squander what we've worked so hard for."

Harry's gaze was resolute. "I can agree with that."

"How long will it take you to get to London?"

"I'm not going to London," Harry retorted.

"But Gringotts and the Goblins…"

Harry grinned. "I'm Muggle-raised."

Ginny couldn't see where he was going with this. The goblins were in Gringotts and that was in London. "And…"

"I have a phone."

Ginny's eyebrows rose. Her husband never ceased to amaze her. "You're going to _telephone_ the goblins?"

"Yes."

"_Telephone _them?"

"Yes," he repeated.

"Oh." Ginny looked a little nonplussed. She'd lived as a Muggle for five years but sometimes the obvious just escaped her."

"They have an emergency phone line. I've just never felt the need to use it before."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_How can I dHow

18


	23. Chapter 23

The Unbreakable Vow 23

**The Unbreakable Vow 23**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

"Well?"

Harry jumped as the voice sounded above his head. "You startled me," he said putting down the paint brush and glancing up at his wife.

"I've been calling your name for the past five minutes," Ginny said handing him a cup of tea. "You were miles away. What is it?"

"I've been thinking…"

"Not again," she quipped back at him. "You shouldn't get into that nasty habit. It's flummoxed many a witch or wizard over the centuries."

Harry managed to grin at her. "Witch!" he said fondly. "I needed to think and the shed needed to get painted. I decided to combine the two."

"I am impressed. You must have been thinking," Ginny said mock admiringly as she glanced at the half-painted shed. "Do you need any help?"

"With the thinking or the painting?" he asked.

"Both," she answered pertly.

"Two heads are better than one, so they say." He slanted a wry grin. "What about Jamie?" He peered past her expecting to see his son at her heels. "What have you done with him?"

"I sold him to the fairies for a pile of gold," she retorted.

Harry blinked. "You what?"

"Sold him to the fairies…" she repeated. "He's not earning his keep and I…"

"Ginny," Harry retorted pompously. "I would have thought that your mother would have informed you that the fairies are not to be trusted with financial transactions. That's why we use a goblin bank for our savings. Even I know that and I was Muggle-raised. They spend all their gold on distilled dew and pixie dust."

"Wretch," she muttered. "Actually, he's sound asleep. So I thought I'd come out to see what was occupying you. I didn't expect to find you painting the shed. I thought Muggles did that sort of thing in the spring. But as I'm living the Muggle way…" Ginny picked up another brush and dipped it in the pot of viscous brown liquid. "Did you…er phone the goblins?"

"That's what I was thinking about," Harry said quietly. "I haven't phoned them yet."

She selected an area of the shed and began painting. "You _are _going to contact them…aren't you?"

"Oh, yes," he answered, his face hardening. "Time has run out for me…well," he shrugged. "Time has run out for us. We need to be magically protected and sooner rather than later. Muggle anonymity isn't enough any more if Voldemort has been resurrected once again. He can find me with ease."

"Your scar," Ginny murmured, as the Knut dropped. "He can feel you through your scar."

"Yes. For the first time in over five years I felt pain in my scar again and that can only mean one thing." He put down his mug and picked up his paintbrush again. "I need help in warding our property and I don't trust…" He stopped painting and looked at her, appealing for her understanding. "Hell, Ginny! I know that you're desperate to see your family and let them know that you're alright but I don't trust certain of our…friends to let us live our lives the way we want to. I'm sure that my magic is almost cured but I would still like more time to be completely certain." He resumed his task, spreading the paint methodically over the timber.

Ginny nodded, her soft lips tightening. The Order of the Phoenix had not helped Ginny escape her arranged marriage to Draco Malfoy. In fact, Albus Dumbledore had insisted that there was nothing he could do and that Ginny still had to marry Draco. Perhaps the headmaster was hoping that marriage to Ginny Weasley might help the poor misguided Death-Eater-in-training to see the error of his ways. Ginny's lip curled in disdain. Malfoy was as set on his path as she and Harry were.

She knew that Harry was uncertain about what exactly the Order would do if the expanded Potter Family showed up together. There was no way she could marry Malfoy now seeing as she already had a son with Harry and another child on the way. She wasn't exactly the pure-blooded virginal bride that the Malfoys would prefer and she liked it that way.

She thought of her son currently sleeping in his cot. No, there was no way she could be taken for the virginal bride these days. Jamie had changed her life in so many ways and there was no way she was returning to her old life and possibly having to hand her child over to the Ministry. It was the kind of stupid thing they would demand that she do.

Then there was her brother, Percy. In a twisted way, she knew that he'd thought that he'd been doing things for her own good. But in reality, he was fooling himself and was treading a very dangerous road by continuing to lobby for political favour from the moneyed, pureblood fraternity at the expense of his relationship with his family. Malfoy and his cronies would never grant Percy the power and authority he so desired.

"We could do this painting thing magically," Ginny commented as a splash of paint made its way down her jumper. "Less mess."

Harry glanced down at the overalls he was wearing. "We could cast a spell and, yes, it would be all done but I used to do this at the Dursley's. I painted the shed there too... and the fence. I quite enjoyed doing it sometimes – and it helps me think."

"Care to enlighten me about your thoughts and why you are delaying in phoning the goblins?" Ginny asked casually.

"I'm not delaying things exactly. We can't afford to do that. I was considering our options. I think we need some extra wizarding help, Mrs Potter." Harry's green eyes gleamed behind his glasses. "Some familial help."

Ginny's face lit up. "Double or single?"

Harry chuckled. "That's what I can't quite decide. That and the risk of discovery once I go ahead. Our peaceful world will be shattered one way or another. In fact, it's already changing. As soon as those spells were cast, the countdown started."

"They've never given up on us, have they?" Ginny's voice was quiet.

"No, I don't consider that they have. We're too important."

"Do they think that we're still alive?" Ginny asked.

"You said it yourself, Ginny-love. They won't have given up on us and I'm talking about our real family - the ones that truly love us. They have our best wishes at heart. You said your mother understood even if she wouldn't remember what you said to her."

"She did understand," admitted Ginny. "I felt so awful having to leave her there in the hospital. I didn't want to lie to her. I said that I was leaving for a short time – just until things had blown over."

"No one could protect us against those out to cause us harm. Our enemies might even think that we're dead. They won't believe that we've been able to remain in hiding for over five years." Harry's lip curled. "Snape thought I was addicted to my fame and sought publicity. I'm not noted for my attempts at staying out of the public eye and off the pages of the _Daily Prophet _but I've never actively sought my fame_._"

"No." She grinned and then sobered. "Pettigrew managed to stay hidden for fourteen years."

"True. But he could only do it as a rat. Hardly the best example of a normal life." Her face turned to Harry's. "We've made a good life for ourselves here."

"We have, Ginny-love, but we should be able to make our life where we choose. You're a witch and I'm a wizard but our true lives have been taken from us."

"Yes, but we're still happy. We're not sitting crying into our cauldrons every night. We're still managing to live," Ginny said passionately as she slapped a very full paint brush against the shed.

There was silence for quite some time after that as Ginny and Harry gradually worked on the task together.

"Have you thought long enough?" she asked eventually, assessing how much was still left to do. "You can stay out here and paint all night if you want to. But it's getting dark as well as cold and if I don't awaken Jamie soon, we'll never get him to go to sleep tonight."

"What about you?" Harry asked carefully. "Will you sleep tonight?"

"I will if you hold me," she answered. "Everything is better when you're with me. The nightmares aren't so terrifying."

"I feel the same," he admitted. "You're a part of me, Ginny, and I'll never let you go. I can't. You, Jamie and the new blob."

Ginny's mouth quirked up at one side. "You just had to call him that."

"I did, didn't I?" Harry placed the lid back on the tub of paint and began gathering up the brushes and the rest of the paraphernalia they had used. "Ginny…" He hesitated but took a deep breath and continued on. "I think I should go back on my own first of all. Just a quick visit to see the lie of the land. You're pregnant and, yes, I know you're not ill." He sighed. "I would rather you just exercised a bit of caution for now."

"That's good coming from you," she retorted but Harry could tell that she agreed with him by the lack of heat in her tone. "'Exercise a bit of caution' - Merlin's hairy balls," she huffed under her breath.

"Ginny-love, we've not had a whole lot of spell-casting over the past five years," he reproved softly. "We both must be rusty and our reactions in a fight would not be up to Death Eater speeds. I don't want to risk you or the baby. You mean far too much to me. You know that I struggle with the mushy stuff – showing my feelings - but never doubt that I love you," he said tenderly.

"I know." Ginny's smile could have lit of the whole of Muggle London. He was still an overprotective prat but he was all hers.

"Go inside and wake up Jamie and I'll clear up out here."

"If you're sure…" Ginny's head lifted as a faint wail could be heard coming from the house. "He gets his timing from you."

"Nah, I'm usually late. He's right on time." Harry looked proud.

Ginny rolled her eyes as the wail got louder. "I'd better go. He's definitely awake and protesting. I don't want any magical temper tantrums because he's stuck in his cot."

"Good idea." He glanced at the almost finished shed and, for the first time since he'd regained his magic, considered using a spell to benefit himself. Saving Snape's life with the creation of the portkey didn't count. His magic was back - as powerful as ever - and he had to believe it. With a flick of his wrist the painting of the entire shed was completed.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**The Burrow**

"Hello!" the voice called anxiously, head bobbing about amidst the green flames. "Mrs Weasley!"

Molly looked up from her knitting and glanced at the strange face in her fireplace. The wizard whose head was floating in the middle of the flames had to have been given access to their Floo by one of the family or an Order member as she didn't recognise him. The Burrow was still a restricted address to all but a select few. "Good evening," she murmured politely, wondering if she should have kept her wand closer.

"I'm looking for Bill…"

Molly's face lit up in a warm smile. "Do come through. They're all still eating but I wanted to finish this jumper for him before he and Fleur returned home." She held up her knitting. "Are you hungry? I'm sure we still have plenty left over. I'll get you a plate."

"So, he's still here? That's good. I did try to reach him at Shell Cottage but then I couldn't get through and finally I remembered that he'd said he was going to his mother's for supper. I'm Pavel Windrush, Mrs Weasley. I work with your son in the human warding and curse-breaking team at Gringotts. I'm sorry I don't have time to come through but he's urgently needed for something at work."

Molly nodded her understanding, her smile bittersweet. "Don't worry, I understand. When my husband was alive, he was often called into the Ministry to deal with some crisis or other. He was the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department. Are you sure that you don't want something to eat?"

The young man smiled. "Bill's told me a lot about your wonderful cooking so I'm sorry to have to turn down your offer."

"Excuse me for a moment," Molly murmured and headed through to the kitchen. Seated around the huge wooden table sat the remaining members of Molly's family. At the end of the table were four set places left vacant at every family gathering. These were for Arthur, her beloved husband, who had died in the attack by Voldemort which had almost cost Molly her life, Percy, still estranged from his family and Harry and Ginny. Arthur would never return home again but Molly still hoped for the return of the other three. It was one of the things that kept her going. Arthur would not want her to give up and fade away.

"Bill," she called above the chatter. "Floo call for you.

Her oldest son pushed back his chair and uncoiled his lanky body into an upright position. "Who is it?"

"Someone called Pavel Windrush and he seems like a nice young man. It's something to do with Gringotts."

"Pav!" Bill glanced the young woman sitting next to him. "You've met him, Fleur. He couldn't come to the wedding because he was away on business. He's the human warding specialist and now that I think about it, I was going to get him to check over the wards at The Burrow and Shell Cottage."

Fleur pursed her lips thoughtfully. "It would be good to have things checked over."

"Anyway," Bill said, "it sounds like I have to go into work."

His beautiful French wife shrugged, her pale hair shimmering as she moved. "Do you need me to come with you?" she asked, her soft voice lightly accented.

Bill looked at his mother. "They just asked for you," Molly said.

"Then I don't think that they need you tonight, Fleur." He dropped a kiss on her cheek. "I'll call you if you're required." Bill pulled his wand from his pocket. "Maybe you could stay here with Mum, rather than going home alone."

"The beds are made up. You should stay," Molly insisted.

"I would be happier if you did," Bill said gently.

Fleur considered the request and then nodded. "Then I will stay…unless you are home very quickly?"

Bill smiled at his beautiful flower, his eyes dipping to rest on her still flat stomach. They'd planned to announce Fleur's pregnancy to the family after supper but their news would keep for another night. "Stay here tonight, Cherie," he urged. "If I'm not needed at work for long I'll come back here and collect you."

His wife's silvery head nodded and, reassured, he waved his wand at the pile of assorted outdoor garments thrown over a chair in the corner of the living room. "Accio cloak!"

A moment later Bill Weasley walked through the human employee's Floo at Gringotts and entered the office he shared with a number of other wizards. But at this time of night there was only one wizard occupying the room, his curly black head bent over a yellowing parchment.

"Good to see you working for your galleons, Pav," Bill called out in greeting.

"Bill!" Pavel got to his feet. "That was quick. Sorry to interrupt your family time but you're required for a job."

Bill greeted his friend with a smile and handed him a sealed container. "I thought it might be something like that. My mother sent you a piece of her treacle tart."

"Fantastic. I'm starving!" Pavel declared, immediately dispensing with the preservation charm on the container with a flick of his wand. "I don't think you've been called in since you got married to the beauteous Fleur."

Bill couldn't remember the last time that he'd been called to the bank after hours – it had been a while ago. Since he'd married, the goblins were less likely to use him after hours, so this had to be important. The goblins considered time with family to be sacred. He would have the inconvenience but he would be paid handsomely for his trouble.

"Your instructions are on your desk," Pavel pointed at a stiff piece of cream parchment. "I don't envy you going out tonight. It's pretty cold."

"I can use a warming charm," Bill retorted. "I'm a wizard of no mean skill."

"With a large head," quipped Pavel.

"And a healthy sense of self preservation."

"Something we all need," Pavel said. "Have you heard the latest rumours?"

"Of course," Bill replied. "I make a point of keeping up with anything that might hint at the whereabouts of You-know-who and the Death Eaters."

Since his father had been killed and Harry and Ginny had disappeared, Bill was conscious of the delicate nature of life and his once easy-going nature had vanished. He and Fleur had both joined the Order of the Phoenix and they'd all heard the whispered rumours of a strange darkness coming from Eastern Europe. It was just like the last time and probably the time before - and with Fleur pregnant with their first child, he worried like any new father-to-be about the future. None of them thought that You-know-who had gone for good. "Do you know what this is about?" He waved the piece of parchment in the air.

"I don't actually," the other wizard answered around a mouthful of Molly's treacle tart. "They wouldn't tell me anything apart from the fact that you were needed to help adding some wards to a property. It's a bit strange but nothing surprises me any more. You've to go and see Griphook."

Bill paused in the act of hanging his cloak on a hook on the wall, looking over his shoulder at his colleague. "Griphook?" He queried. "_The_ Griphook?"

Pavel opened a drawer in his desk and scrabbled around for a decent quill. "Yes. What other Griphook is there? I originally thought it was a curse-breaking thing that they wanted you for."

"That would make a lot of sense since that's what I'm employed to do but I don't get to deal with the senior account managers normally."

Pavel's mouth opened and shut a couple of times. "So why do they want you?" he finally wondered aloud. "No offence, pal, but if it's a warding job…?"

"Yes, I see what you mean." Bill's eyebrows rose into his hairline. "Why would an account manager be interested in a warding job and want to involve a curse breaker?" He glanced at his friend thoughtfully. "Wouldn't they be better asking you? That's your department."

"It's you they want." Pavel shrugged and began consulting the books and parchments piled on his desk. "They were quite insistent and you know the goblins. You don't argue too much or you can find yourself other employment."

Bill nodded. "True. I did help my father with some of the wards around The Burrow but to be honest, I'm more used to breaking through wards than setting them up."

"Perhaps that's why the goblins have asked for you. Maybe they feel that you should have more experience of setting wards and that it would help with getting through them unscathed." Pavel took a final bite of the treacle tart and closed his eyes, a beatific smile appearing on his face. "Tell your mother this is superb."

Bill chuckled. "I will." A shadow momentarily crossed his face. It was the first time she'd made the dessert in a long time. She'd always made it for Harry when he'd come to stay at The Burrow because it was one of his favourites. He pushed away the memories of Harry and, of course, Ginny. He had work to do.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Bill was shown into Account-Manager Griphook's office by a goblin he didn't know. "You wanted to see me," he said in carefully pronounced Gobbledygook. He wasn't fluent in the language by any means but knew enough to get by. His employers were pleased that he at least made the effort.

"Mr. Weasley."

"Sir," Bill said, with a polite bow of his head.

"You are to proceed to the portkey area to meet with the goblin warding team. You will be taking part…"

"But I'm a curse breaker, not a warding expert!" Bill exclaimed, reverting back to English. He'd almost begun to think that his friend was winding him up. "Pavel Windrush is the senior wizard in that particular field."

"That's as may be, Mr. Weasley, but it is you we need. We will explain when we get there. I suggest you wrap up warmly. It is cold outside."

Bill still couldn't say that he understood his presence on this assignment. However, it wasn't a good idea to say no to those who had authority over him and he bowed his head once more, the fang earring swinging. He would wait. Suddenly, he got the feeling that this was one of the most important things that he had ever done while working for Gringotts.

The goblin moved from behind his desk and indicated for Bill to precede him from the office. "Time is running short. We must be on our way. Collect your things quickly."

Bill shrugged and grabbed his cloak as he returned to his work area. He glanced over at Pavel and shook his head. "For some reason they're determined that I go and they're not saying why."

"It will do you good to branch out," murmured Pavel. "You'll find it interesting. You may want to think about warding your own property one day."

"Oh, it is warded," Bill said. "Quite heavily, too, but not by me. I wondered if you could check the wards over for me someday soon?"

"Sure."

Bill smiled in thanks, pulled his cloak across his shoulders and headed to collect his portkey.

"On three, Mr Weasley," a goblin said, holding out an unripe banana.

Bill placed his finger reluctantly on the piece of fruit, noting that there were several other goblins doing something similar.

"One, two…three."

After the usual feeling of being sucked through a narrow tube, they were deposited in the middle of a road with trees on either side. "This way," said one of the goblins. Bill noticed immediately that he was the only wizard present and that it was cold, pitch-dark and he had absolutely no idea where he was.

They walked for about five minutes until they reached a set of large metal gates which parted with a wave of the lead goblin's spindly, long-fingered hand.

"This is the edge of the property," he said in a nasal voice. "Slathook and Dagbone stay and work on the charms needed here. "Weasley, Cutflick, follow me."

They set off at a brisk pace up a long, tree-lined rutted drive. Bill managed to keep his legs moving at the necessary pace so that he wouldn't outstrip the goblins with his longer legs but he was conscious of their haste.

"Nearly there," said Griphook with satisfaction. "Never thought that he could live without magic for all this time but he did."

"Who did?" Bill asked stupidly.

"We cannot say the name of our client without his permission. He's protected by the goblin nation," replied Griphook shortly.

"He is?"

Bill wondered why such an important goblin would live in an area like this, without magic and away from his own kind and why was it that he, Bill Weasley, needed to perform warding charms?

The drive suddenly opened out and a cottage sat framed within the trees. Outside lights had come on automatically at their approach and he could see that, although it was an old building, it had been beautifully restored.

Bill frowned and pulled out his wand flicking it in a series of intricate moves. His frown deepened as he flicked his wand again. Something was missing and he knew what it was. This was not a goblin residence. It wasn't even a wizarding house; it was a Muggle home and quite a nice spacious one at that. He could see two cars parked to the side next to a separate garage. Whoever owned this property must have wealth tied up in Gringotts. Indeed, Bill could only guess that this home belonged to an important Muggle-born client.

But he had no idea how important.

If they were dealing with a Muggle-born, why couldn't he sense any magic in the air at all? Something about the whole situation bothered the red-headed wizard. Things just didn't add up.

Suddenly, the door opened and the figure of a young man was framed in its lighted warmth. Griphook moved forward and grasped the hand of the man shaking it in a Muggle fashion. Then they exchanged polite bows in the manner of the goblins. Something was murmured from one to the other and the goblin and the man chuckled. It was then that the goblin turned to face Bill, his teeth bared in an expression of goblin amusement. He was going to enjoy this.

"Mr. Weasley, this is our client. No one is to know who he is or where he is. The goblins have sworn to protect him and his clan. Once we have finished the warding, you will not be able to speak of him unless he gives his permission."

The young man stepped forward and for the first time Bill could see him fully. "Hello Bill," Harry Potter said calmly, pushing his spectacles firmly against his nose.

Bill gasped. There was nothing else that he could do. His brain felt sluggish - unable to comprehend what he was actually seeing as all his preconceived theories vanished. "H…Harry?"

Unsure for an instant whether to punch him or embrace him, Bill lunged forwards, his arms going around the younger man in a sort of desperate hug before stepping back a pace, his fingers digging painfully into Harry's shoulders. "Where have you been? We've all been worried sick. The Order has been searching for you ever since you vanished. Why, Harry, Why?" He almost howled the last sentence at the younger man.

Harry lifted his hand and patted Bill's before moving away. "I had no choice. I'm sorry, I can't explain now but I will and soon." He dug into his pocket and handed Bill a small vial of a red liquid and a carved silver dagger with a wicked-looking blade. "You'll need it for the warding."

Bill gazed at the tiny container in disbelief. "Your blood?"

"My blood and my lifeblood." He smiled softly. "My heart."

Bill didn't quite understand that. "It's a blood warding?"

"They are more effective," said Griphook joining the conversation. "It is far more difficult to break blood wards."

"I wanted to ask for a favour, Bill," said Harry quietly. "That's one of the reasons that I asked for you to be present. The Weasley Family have been like my own since Ron and I first met on the train to Hogwarts. Could you add a drop of your blood to the mix? You do know that Voldemort took some of mine in fourth year. I need to protect…"

Harry glanced behind him and Bill was surprised to see the figure of a woman with a cloud of long dark hair pass one of the lighted windows. "I have people that I need to protect."

Bill nodded wondering who the woman was, thoughts of Ginny uppermost in his mind. "Of course, Harry. You're part of my family as far as I'm concerned."

"I'd hoped you would say that," Harry murmured, relief visible on his face. "It also means that it will be easier for the Weasley Family to pass through the wards once I emerge from my hiding place."

Bill opened his mouth to ask if Ginny was with him.

"We'd better get on, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter," Griphook said firmly, moving to stand beside them. "It's getting late and we don't want to tempt fate, do we?"

Harry shook his head. "No. He dug into his pocket again and produced a piece of paper. "I would like to talk to you again," he said. "But I don't want Dumbledore, the Order or the Ministry to know where I am."

"They're still watching us," Bill admitted.

"I guessed as much. I'm too important because of that damned prophecy but at the moment I do not trust them." Harry's expression was cold and determined. "They seem to think that I'm a child who doesn't know his own mind. I'm quite familiar with its contents. Tell Gred and Forge to switch on their mirror and to make sure that they're alone tomorrow evening when they do. I suggest around about half-past six. I'll have finished work by then."

"Mirror?" Bill asked.

"It's something that Sirius gave me – a set of two-way mirrors that you can speak into. Sirius and my father used them to contact one another during detentions. The one the twin's have can only receive messages. I…damaged it."

Bill could see Harry's face stiffen as he added the last part of his sentence. "Could I join them?" he enquired. "It would save you giving the explanation more times than necessary."

"Of course," Harry agreed. "I want to set up a meeting as soon as possible. I'm going to need you guys more than ever. But now is not the time for our discussion."

Bill grinned. "Thank you."

"Then I'll talk to you again tomorrow." Harry glanced back at the house before looking enquiringly at Griphook. "Do you need me to stay while you perform the charm?"

Bill held up the vial of Harry's blood and Griphook's lips bared, revealing pointed teeth in what Harry supposed was an approving smile.

"No, we have your blood. Your essence is around the property because you own it and live here. We don't need anything else for the moment. We'll call you back at the appropriate time."

Harry nodded and bowed politely at Griphook before disappearing back inside the house.

"Well, lad…" Griphook said pointing at the dagger Bill clutched gingerly between his fingers. "A couple of drops of your blood should do the trick and then we must protect the innocent inside."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Just over three hours later, Griphook's teeth bared in satisfaction as he wrestled with the streams of magic surrounding the Potter property. "It is time for you to go, Mr. Weasley," he shouted above the sounds of crackling and popping spells.

"What!" Bill was controlling a stream of golden magic or he had been. His wand arm was beginning to wilt under the strain.

"You have done all you can," the goblin said approvingly.

"I'll take over from here," a voice said.

"H…Harry?" Bill panted, suddenly realising how tired he was.

The younger wizard had his wand outstretched, ready to take over. "This is my home and I have to take over the final part of the ritual. Thanks, Bill. You've done more than you know."

"You can let go, Mr. Weasley," instructed Griphook. "Your portkey has been activated. You may leave at any time during the next minute and a half." He nodded towards a shell-shocked looking goblin. "Cutflick will accompany you back to Gringotts. From there I suggest that you go straight home."

Bill gave a tired nod, grabbed the disc hanging around his neck and disappeared. Seconds later he and Cutflick were in the employee arrival hall at Gringotts. A few minutes after that, Bill stumbled from the entrance hall fireplace at Shell Cottage and collapsed in front of his wife.

"Bill!" Fleur breathed in horror as his legs buckled and he sank down onto his knees, too weak to walk any further.

"I'm okay, Fleur. Just a little tired," he whispered. "In fact, I've never been so tired. Never…" His voice tailed away and his eyes began to close.

"Bill," Fleur said sharply as her husband's body began to complete the descent his legs had started. "You have to move."

"Can't…" It was almost a groan of pure pain. Merlin's balls, he hurt. Every single damn bone in his body ached.

His wife chuckled despite her concern. "Of course you can. You'll stiffen up even more in that position," she said pointedly, her gaze narrowing on the way his long limbs sprawled uncomfortably over the floor. "Come on, Bill," she entreated huskily. "You'll thank me for it in the morning. I need you to drink this."

"What?" He could only seem to manage one word at a time. His beautiful Fleur, he suddenly noticed through his bleary half-shut eyes, was holding a mug of a steaming liquid.

"Pepper-up," she announced. "The goblins said that you would need it. You are to have the next two days off and rest. They sent me a supply of goblin strength replenishing potions too. You are to take these three times a day after meals. I do not envy you this. They smell terrible."

"Th…thanks," he muttered, grabbing the mug and throwing the contents down his throat. Wincing as the smoke poured out of his ears, Bill sat up. "Wait a minute," he said, the potion beginning to do its work. "How did you know that I would be so drained when I came home?"

Fleur chuckled again, her voice low and warm. "The goblins contacted us at your mother's as soon as you had left and told me." Her English had improved tremendously since the Tri-wizard tournament but she still pronounced words beginning with the letters 'th' with care.

"Told you?"

"They did not tell me very much. Something to do with client confidentiality." She smirked at him. "I was given the same two days off as you to make sure that you did rest. The Weasley men are stubborn and you are the most stubborn of all, no?"

"Oh!" Bill just didn't have the strength to argue with a determined witch with Veela blood in her veins.

She pulled him to his feet, watching with concern as he began to slowly climb the stairs. "I have run you a bath, Cherie. Go and soak and I will bring you up a medicinal firewhisky."

Bill looked down at her. She really was beautiful but to him she was more than just a beautiful woman. Fleur had fallen in love with him because he didn't treat her like most men treated Veelas. Bill loved Fleur for who she was, not what she was. Most witches would have brought their wizards a cup of tea. Fleur brought him a firewhisky.

By the time he reached the bathroom, he had sunk back onto his knees.

"Oh, Bill." Fleur stood at the bathroom door, his firewhisky clutched in her hand. "Here, let me help you. That must have been one impressive set of wards you were helping to erect." She placed the whisky next to the bath and began easing one arm from his shirt.

"I wasn't sure why they wanted me to do it," he admitted, just letting her pull off his dragonhide work boots. "Or rather, I wasn't."

"But you know now?"

"I think so."

Fleur's hands went to his belt buckle and started removing his trousers.

"Hey!" he protested and then smirked.

"Don't even think about it. You're too tired for _that_ tonight." She stripped him carefully of the rest of his clothes.

"And you call yourself French, Cherie?" He lowered himself in the bath with a blissful smile.

Fleur winked at him. "When your stamina has returned, Monsieur Weasley, I will show you how French I am."

"I'm looking forward to it already," he managed to quip tiredly.

"You do that," she muttered. "How much can you tell me?" she asked as she picked up a washcloth and began trailing it over his strong shoulders.

"Very little but, oh Fleur, it was such a unique experience. The wards were so intricate – beautifully linked to the individual and the house he loves. I even saw them for a moment. All I can say as a description was that they were shining strings of pure magic."

"Like rain on a spider's web," whispered Fleur. "I once took part in a personal warding when I was a child. It was the new home of my maternal grandmother."

"The one whose hair is in your wand?" Bill asked. "The Veela?"

"Yes. We all took part though Gabrielle was not yet born. I do remember my father was in his bed for a week afterwards. Was this a Fidelius?"

"Yes. But an older variation of the charm that I'd never heard of before. It's old magic…deeper and more powerful."

"And the goblins granted this to a wizard?" Fleur was impressed. She'd worked for Gringotts since leaving school and had never been awarded any courtesies like this.

"He is under goblin protection. I couldn't tell you any more about him even if I wanted to. Maybe one day…"

"Aah, that will be why they did it. It's another experience to add to those you have already gained." She leant forward and kissed him. "I'll go and make you something to eat." She flicked her wand and cast a swift warming charm on the water. "I expect you'll be hungry about now. Your mother sent a care parcel."

"Wonderful." Bill's blue eyes followed his wife's retreating figure and he settled back to enjoy his solitude. He had a number of things to ponder. He couldn't tell Fleur about seeing Harry yet. The spell he'd helped the goblins perform prevented him.

Harry had looked good - better than the last time he'd seen him. He couldn't quite believe that it had been over five years since Harry had disappeared. He'd been dressed in muggle clothing, the trademark spectacles in place, although the ever-present anxiety that lurked in Harry's eyes was still present. Bill noted the habit Harry had of nervously pushing the glasses firmly back up his nose, the gold of his wedding ring glinting in the security lights.

Bill sat up, his heart pounding, water sloshing over the side of the bath onto the floor. It was his left hand. Harry was wearing a wedding ring! Harry was married!

He recalled the figure of the dark-haired woman moving in front of the window for a second. He'd not really given her any thought. If pressed, he might even have considered that it could be a housemate. But a wife! Harry was too young to be married; he was just out of school…

His brain slowed down. No, Harry was old enough. He was about twenty-three now…same age as Ron. Plenty of wizards married young. Bill hadn't himself but then he'd moved to Egypt for Gringotts and seen a bit of the world first. And of course, he hadn't met the right witch – he hadn't met Fleur. But it was more than likely, given that Harry had been hiding in the Muggle world since his disappearance, that he had a Muggle wife. One who'd be unable to protect herself against wizards.

And what about Ginny! The family and most of the Order assumed that Harry and Ginny had run away together to protect her from the Malfoys. But Dumbledore had admitted that there were other issues involved, not just the betrothal contract. Hermione had said that the headmaster had wanted Harry to return to the home of his Muggle relatives - something Harry was very reluctant to do.

For the first time Bill had to consider that Ginny might not be with Harry and he couldn't even say anything about it. He couldn't talk about Harry unless the younger man gave him leave to do so. If she wasn't with Harry, what had happened to his little sister?

She would be without her magic by now, if the contract the Malfoys had enforced upon her ran true to form. Ginny had no experience of Muggle life and would certainly have been found if she'd continued to live as a witch. Once her magic drained away, Ginny would be powerless and completely vulnerable.

Bill swallowed, feeling sick. He would just have to demand the information from the-boy-who-lived tomorrow. He couldn't just turn up at Harry's newly warded home. He had no idea where it was.

Bill took a large swallow of his firewhisky, cataloguing the things in his mind that could lead him to Harry and came to the conclusion that Harry was probably somewhere in Scotland. It had been cold last night, but even colder at Harry's location. The trees around the property consisted of birches, rowans and pines. 'Somewhere in Scotland' didn't help him much.

The bathroom door opened and a towel floated in followed by his sleep-pants. Bill took that as a hint to get out of the bath. He was going to get answers from Harry tomorrow if he had to Bat-Bogey Hex him to do so. However, first, he needed to fire-call the twins.

Wearily, he grabbed his dressing gown off the back of the bathroom door and padded back down the stairs. Moving into the study, he grabbed some Floo powder from a pot on the shelf.

"Gred…Forge!" he hissed through the green flames.

"Bill?" Two voices answered in unison. "What could have you calling us this late in the evening after unexpected overtime at work?"

"I have a message for you," Bill said quietly. "From an old friend."

"An old friend," echoed Fred slowly.

"Is it a message that we want to hear?" asked George, his face uncharacteristically serious.

"I think so," murmured Bill. "This is because of my work this evening…"

"Where you bumped into…" George interrupted.

"This old friend," finished Fred.

"Yes. I was going to come to you tomorrow but I wondered if you could bring your mirror to Shell Cottage instead."

"What mirror?" Fred had gone very still.

"I was told by this 'old friend' that you had, in your possession, one-half of a rare set of two-way mirrors."

"How do you…?" Fred and George's faces had gone so pale that their freckles stood out. "H…Ha…"

"Don't say it," Bill commanded sharply. "In fact, don't even think about it. Could you come to me and be ready to switch on your mirror at six-thirty precisely."

"Is this true?" demanded Fred.

"I didn't know you had a mirror," Bill answered. "I'm just relaying the message.

"We'll be there," the twins promised shakily.

"I'd tell you more if I could but I can't," Bill confessed tiredly. "Look, guys, it's been a very long evening and I don't want to face the wrath of my wife if I don't get some rest."

"Tomorrow then," said the twins and cut the connection. Bill was left staring into the flames.

_**xxxxxxxxxx**_

Harry almost staggered back into the house once the crackling streams of magic had gone. It had felt similar to when he was battling Voldemort in the graveyard during the Tri-wizard tournament except that the goblins were at least trying to help him and not kill him. He hoped that he hadn't destroyed his magic again. He didn't think that he could survive being in exile for another five years - not when he could sense his returning power so strongly. He'd actually felt a difference in himself. He could and would return to the magical world he loved.

"Harry?" Ginny stood at the study door, a book clasped in her hands. Harry thought it might have been one of the magical treatises from Babble's Books.

"I managed to cope with the power of those spells during the warding," Harry observed carefully. "So, my magic is working," he said, swaying where he stood. "But I think I may have killed it."

Her brown eyes widened with worry. "You completed the warding," she said.

"Yes."

She took in his exhausted face. "It's very strong magic and I think you should be tired."

"Yes, but Ginny, I've been unable to do any magic for over five years. I don't want to be like that forever. It's been hard enough as it is."

"Well, you made up for it tonight." She moved forward and dragged him into the study. "Sit," she ordered him into a red leather armchair. A minute later she was back with a couple of small glass vials. "I've been saving these for an emergency. They're still good."

"Poppy's?" Harry flipped the lid of each and threw the contents down his throat, shuddering as a blast of steam poured out of his ears. "Thanks," he muttered as the colour began returning to his face.

"I just think that you need to rest. You've done strong magic tonight when you're not used to it. You're bound to feel drained."

"Do you think so?" Harry asked, a mix of hope and desperation clear on his face.

"I just think that you need to rest. You've done strong magic tonight when you're not used to it. You're bound to feel drained."

"Do you think so?" Harry asked a mix of hope and desperation clear on his face.

"Oh, sweetheart," Ginny murmured. "Of course, I do."

Harry sighed with relief, his head tipping back against the high back of the chair.

"Well?" Ginny folded her arms and began tapping her foot. "Apart from you looking as if you've survived several rounds with a Death Eater, how did it go?"

"It's done." He smiled and patted his knee. Ginny curled herself into his lap, her head on his shoulder. "They brought Bill with them. He still has the dragon tooth earring and the pony-tail."

"Bill," she whispered, her lips trembling. "Did you know?"

"Yes. I asked for him. He added some of his blood to strengthen the wards."

"He did? Harry, why didn't you tell me?"

He hung his head. "I wanted to. Believe me, I wanted to but I didn't think it was the right time. I didn't want your first meeting with your family to be with the goblins in attendance."

"Oh."

He could see that she was thinking about what he had said. "I'm contacting the Twins tomorrow to set up a meeting. Bill wants to be there. I'm sure he was going to ask if I knew where you were but Griphook interrupted us and we had to start the ritual."

Ginny pushed herself further against him. "Thank you," she whispered.

"We need to make some decisions before we talk to them."

"What sort of decisions?"

"Jamie, for one. Do we tell them about him yet?"

"Jamie," she echoed. "I don't know. They would love him."

"Of course they would love him. Molly will adore him and spoil him within an inch of his life."

She tilted her head to look at Harry's face. "What do you think?"

"I don't want to say anything yet," he admitted carefully. "He's safer that way. After all, he's not on the Hogwarts Attendance list or the Ministry Registry of Births. Poppy's the only magical being that knows he exists."

"Then we don't tell them yet," she said. "I don't want M…Malfoy finding out about him. What are your plans?"

"I'm contacting Bill and the twins by mirror tomorrow evening after work. Yes, I'm going into work tomorrow," he said with a grin. "Then I wondered if we could invite them here?"

"But we don't want to tell them about Jamie yet. There are traces of him everywhere. Photographs, his toys, books and clothes…"

"Yes, we're a bit like Vernon and Petunia with regards to our son. Although he doesn't resemble a baby whale or a pig in a wig."

Ginny chuckled. "No, he looks like a Potter."

"He's got your nose."

"And that's supposed to make me grateful?" Ginny got to her feet and held out her hand. "We could meet them in town. It's neutral territory and if things worked out okay then we could let them know about Jamie."

"Yes, part of me is tempted to do that but it's the first time you've seen your family in years and the reunion might be better if it's private."

"Then have them come here. We could leave Jamie with Caroline or Helen and remove any photographs…"

"Do you realise how long that would take?" Harry straightened an askew frame as they climbed the stairs together and pushed open their son's bedroom door.

Ginny brushed back a lock of black hair on the small forehead. "So much energy during the day and now so peaceful."

Harry leaned over the cot and dropped a kiss on the baby's cheek. "I like him peaceful."

"We could cast an Obscuro charm," Ginny suggested she exited Jamie's room "It should turn the pictures blurry and if we keep the conservatory door closed, they wouldn't see his toys."

"That would work," Harry murmured, stifled a yawn and headed into the bathroom. A few moments later he exited and finished getting ready for bed.

"I would like to see Bill and the twins but I would love to see my mother more," Ginny confessed quietly as she lay in Harry's arms. "Suppose they hate me…hate us...because we left them?"

"Your family love you, Gin. I wouldn't be surprised if there are five Weasley jumpers waiting for us both at The Burrow. They were distraught when they couldn't break the contract."

"You broke it, Harry."

"No, between us we created something precious and more powerful that couldn't be broken."

"And Jamie."

"Yes, we created him alright. And the new blob."

"Orion," Ginny said. "I told you."

17


	24. Chapter 24

The Unbreakable Vow 24

**The Unbreakable Vow 24**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

Harry parked his car next to Ginny's smaller one in front of the garage. He couldn't say that his concentration at work had been particularly good today but he hadn't made any obvious mistakes in front of the bank's customers. Hopefully, his was the impersonal face unremembered by the general Muggle population. An ordinary bank in such a small town would not be frequented by wizards unless they had Muggle relatives. Luckily for he and Ginny, Harry hadn't seen a single wizarding head in the town since he'd arrived four years ago.

He switched off the lights and climbed wearily out of the car. The warding last night had taken more out of him than he'd suspected that it would and the temptation to remain in his bed this morning had been strong. However, Harry didn't want to deviate from his normal routine. He was pretty sure than no one had any idea of his whereabouts apart from the goblins but with Voldemort back… Harry swallowed. Voldemort was really back. He had a lot to lose and wasn't taking any chances with the life of his family.

"Ginny!" he called as he pushed open the front door and sauntered into the house. "Ginny!"

"Harry!" She flew at him and threw herself into his arms.

"What?" he asked bemusedly, his arms full of soft, enticing witch.

She smiled up at him. "I'm glad that you're home."

Harry pulled back and surveyed the woman in his arms. "If I hadn't known that you were at work today for an hour or two, I would have said that you'd been stuck in the house all day with a stubborn toddler."

"Nope," she said, nibbling on his lips. "I was just needed at work this morning. Therefore, I picked up Jamie early from the nursery and he'd been a little angel…" She beamed. "…for once."

"Our son!" Harry exclaimed. "I thought he was always a little angel. Are you suggesting that he's not?"

"You know he can be a little hellion." Ginny smiled. "I'm just glad to see you home on time and in one piece. It means that we can take the first real steps in returning to our magical life."

"We did that the moment we decided not to let the bad guys win," Harry retorted, dipping his head and kissing her. "Speaking of our son," he said cocking his head and listening in vain for the chattering boy. "Where is 'Trouble'…sorry, the little angel?"

"In the kitchen smearing his food all over his face under the guise of eating his tea," Ginny said with a chuckle. "He's strapped into the high-chair but I swear it's magic the way he gets food in places that it's impossible to reach. His whole face will be green by the time I go back in the kitchen."

"You're not feeding him avocado again?" Harry asked warily.

"He needs a proper balanced diet," Ginny said primly. "And that includes vegetables."

"Avocado is not a vegetable," Harry said. "It's a fruit. I read it somewhere."

"You sound like Hermione," Ginny said with a bittersweet smile.

Harry looked momentarily horrified. "Do I?" He then grinned. "That's a compliment."

"I guess it is," she said dryly. "Dad's have to know…stuff."

"I'm going to have to become a lot more like her, Ginny-love," he said with a sigh. "We both are. We have some time to make up in the education department."

"We've both been studying," Ginny said. "We've not sat on our backsides doing nothing since we moved up here. You've been doing your bank exams and I did my nursery nurse's diploma and the teaching assistant's qualification."

"If we remain as Muggles I still think you should do the teaching degree…"

Ginny considered his words, her head tilted to one side. "Maybe I will."

"I won't stop you doing what you want."

"I wouldn't let you," she murmured and then kissed him. "Bat-bogey…"

"Nope," Harry said, once she'd let him go. "You could just kiss me and I'd be putty in your hands."

"Putty?"

"Sort of soft, cement-like substance used in building," Harry said. "It was used to keep the glass in the windows before double glazing units became the norm. I'm not precisely sure of the exact uses of putty these days. It's a Muggle saying."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "One of those, eh? I'm happy where I am right now and, yes, I don't want to be my mother as much as I love her."

"So no to staying at home fulltime and producing a Quidditch team then?" Harry said with a grin.

Ginny chuckled. "What do you think?"

Harry tapped his chin pretending to mull over her question. "We'll have as many as you want us to."

"Good answer," Ginny said admiringly. "And I know that you were really talking about our magical education. Come and say hello to Jamie." She linked her arm through Harry's and drew him through to the kitchen where, indeed, an avocado-covered toddler greeted his father with joy. Pulling out her wand, Ginny smiled at Harry and cast a cleaning charm, siphoning off the mess. "I didn't think you'd want that on your suit jacket," she observed with a smirk. This is what she should have been able to do since she'd reached seventeen. She should have been able to be a proper witch. She didn't blame Harry for this; no she blamed Malfoy, Percy and Voldemort.

Harry lifted Jamie from his high chair, gave him a kiss and set him down on the floor where he proceeded to toddle off towards his toys. "No, I don't think the bank would be too happy if my uniform was covered with random globs of green." He ginned at his wife. "Nice wand work, by the way – swish and flick?"

"No, it was more of an abbreviated swirl ending in a sharp jab." Ginny handed Harry a mug of tea. "We'll eat after you've spoken to my brothers," she murmured calmly. "I don't think we have time just now."

"I said half-past six and both of us will be speaking to your brothers," Harry said, checking the time on his watch. "We have fifteen minutes yet."

"Then let's get Jamie ready for bed now," Ginny decided, with a mother's knowing glance. "He's absolutely knackered and if we don't move him shortly, he'll fall asleep in the middle of the floor. I thought his head was going to land in his dinner at one point. I can be reading him his story while you contact the boys. It gets us out of the way."

"But I thought that you wanted to speak to them," Harry said quietly.

"I do but not with Jamie around. We decided that yesterday, remember?"

"Yeah." It was the right decision for safety reasons but not what they wanted to do. They were proud of their baby and wanted to show him off to the family but Molly had to be the first to meet her grandson.

"Jamie likes the telephone," she said with a chuckle. "He would want to speak in the mirror."

"He would. Especially to his weird uncles." Harry's face showed pretend horror. "We don't need them encouraging him yet. I like my toilet seat where it is."

"I'll get him ready for bed and then come down and join you," she said decisively. "Perhaps a mild sleeping charm?"

Harry nodded his head and went to grab his son.

"Dad…Dad…Dad!" Jamie chanted.

"Bath…bath…bath," returned Harry, proceeding to climb the stairs with a giggling boy held upside down in his arms.

"Harry, he's supposed to be getting ready for bed. Don't wind him up too much or he'll never sleep. Even with a charm." Ginny shook her head, laughing softly at their antics and sped up the stairs to join them.

_**xxxxx**_

Fifteen minutes later, Harry sat at his desk in the study, pulled a chain that held a dangling key from around his neck and unlocked one of the drawers. Taking a deep breath, he reached inside and pulled out something covered in a soft white cloth.

"Oh, Sirius," he whispered, the pain still present even after seven years. Carefully, Harry unwrapped the object on his desk, revealing the mirror that could have saved his godfather's life - if he'd remembered to use it.

"Gred and Forge," he said clearly. The mirror hummed and vibrated in his suddenly clammy fingers. The clear surface of the mirror went cloudy and then, he was staring at some weird two-headed apparition.

"Is it working?" someone asked.

"Gerroff, Gred!" exclaimed another voice irritably. "I want to talk first. I'm the oldest."

"No, you're not. We came out of our poor mother's womb in this order: Gred and Forge, not Forge and Gred."

"If there's any more arguing…" A third voice broke in above the other two. "I can claim seniority by several years and _I_ will speak to Harry first."

"You apparently spoke to him yesterday but you're keeping the details of that quiet," accused Fred. "That's really not fair."

"Because I have to keep it quiet. He's under a Fidelius," Bill's voice said wearily. "I couldn't say anything more – even if I wanted to."

"Oh," the twins said in unison.

"You knew that it was about Harry without me saying anything," snapped Bill above the sound of renewed bickering. "Until Harry gave me leave to divulge the information I was effectively gagged."

Harry could quite believe that the twins had guessed without Bill saying anything to them. And the arguing - it was so normal – so _Weasley_. "Hello, guys," he said.

There was a sudden silence at the other end and the two pressed-together faces tried to take in as much as they could.

"Harry!" There was a shout of joy.

It was difficult to know what to say in return. Five long awkward years stretched between them and the young wizard felt the distance. But it was time to begin bridging the gap.

"Harry, you okay?" asked Fred, when the young man at the other end just sat looking at them.

"Yeah," said Harry eventually. "Better than I was."

"Why are your eyes brown?" asked George. "And why aren't you wearing your specs?"

"My eyes…brown…Oh…contacts," Harry said. "It's a disguise. You know. Boy-who-lived. Green eyes, round glasses and scar."

"I don't see the scar either," said George.

Harry looked a bit embarrassed. "Muggle concealer helps with that. You know…make-up. I don't want the scar to be obvious."

"Glad to know that you're okay," said Fred lightly. "We worried, you know."

"Thought you might do something like this but we didn't ask," said George.

"I thought that you'd guessed," admitted Harry, fidgeting in his chair. "There was far too much pressure on me and I needed a break."

"Tried not to think about it," added George. Harry wasn't telling them the whole story. The poor kid had needed far more than just a break. "After all…"

"What you don't know…" said Fred.

"Could save your life," stated George.

"Or ours. They can't torture it out of you…" said Fred.

"Or tease it out of you with Legilimency or Veritaserum," finished George.

"Constant vigilance," they chorused together.

Harry chuckled. "I'm glad that you two haven't changed."

"Oh, we've changed," said George, a hint of darkness in his tone.

"We don't trust so blindly in the people or things that we used to," said Fred. "Even our friends and family are under suspicion."

"A sad state of affairs but a necessary one," chipped in George.

Bill growled his agreement behind them. The Weasleys were learning to stick together. Well, most of them.

"How's business?" asked Harry, not quite ready to talk about the past but knew that it had to be done. They needed to move forward and quickly but he was human enough to want to put it off for a few more minutes.

"Your investment is more than safe, dear Harry," sang Fred. "Business at Weasleys Wizard Wheezes is booming, as they say."

"I never doubted it." Harry smiled. "Bill?"

The twins passed the mirror to their eldest brother. "The head of the family Potter wants to talk to the head of the family Weasley," declared Fred.

"This isn't satisfactory," said Harry finally, squinting into the mirror. "There are things I need to tell you – important things - and I know there are things you need to ask. It might be better if we do it face to face."

"We're face to face now," called George.

"In person," said Harry impatiently. "Not at a distance."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Bill.

"You come here," answered Harry.

Bill's blue eyes were solemn. "What about your wife?" He really wanted to shout: _'What about Ginny. She loved you. Where is my sister?'_ But he bit his tongue and said nothing.

There were sudden exclamations of surprise from the twins. "Wife! Ickle Harry is married?"

Harry went pale and swallowed a swear word. "You know that I'm married?" he said.

Bill's face was calm, his eyes watchful. "You were wearing a wedding ring during the warding. I assume that it's to a Muggle because there were no traces of magic around your house. Does she know that you're a wizard?" If Harry had married a Muggle then she was in grave danger. Muggles couldn't protect themselves against magic and Harry would still have to contend with Voldemort one day.

Harry turned and looked behind him and connected with the bright brown eyes that had been his salvation from the moment that he'd known he loved her. "Excuse me a moment." He put down the mirror, covering it with the white cloth and cast the Muffliato spell. He beckoned his wife to him. "They can't see or hear you, so it's okay to talk. I'd like to have them come here and I wondered what you might think about that?"

Ginny sat down on the chair opposite Harry. "Jamie's asleep and I've moved his high-chair, tidied away some of his toys and cast Obscuro over all photographs containing him. I would like to see my brothers." She turned away, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Oh, Ginny," he murmured.

"It's okay," she said, pulling out a tissue and giving her nose a defiant blow. "Tell them to come. Harry Potter's 'Muggle' wife has no problems with several red-haired wizards showing up in her home. It will be easier in the long run." She managed to smile.

Harry caught her hand and pressed it. "I'll tell them…witch."

She got to her feet and left the study. Harry knew that she would be heading to the kitchen to prepare some scones or something like that. She wasn't Molly Weasley's daughter for nothing and needed to do something when upset. But as they'd been living without magic for the past five years it was more than likely that Ginny would be making them the Muggle way.

Harry took down the silencing spell, marvelling at the ease of his actions. Last night's magic hadn't hurt his recovery at all but he knew that he needed to start working on building up his strength and endurance. Voldemort would not be felled by a simple muffling charm.

He pulled the cloth away from the mirror. "Hello again," Harry said smoothly. "I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to check that she was okay with everything. My wife knows that I am a wizard and is happy for you to come here. Then we can meet face to face."

Bill frowned. "But what about the Fidelius charm?"

"We thought ahead," Harry said. "Check in the pockets of the robe you wore last night. There should be a small piece of blank parchment in one of them. It will reveal its secret when you ask it to but then you must destroy it. No one must know where I live. There's far more at stake here than you know."

All three red heads nodded.

"You should then be able to apparate to where we are. See you soon." Harry winked out of view leaving the mirror clear once more.

_**xxxxx**_

Bill turned to his brothers. "You're not expected anywhere else tonight?"

"No."

"Right, then." He went and grabbed his cloak then headed to the sitting room. "Fleur?"

His wife lifted her head from the book she was reading. "Oui?"

"I've just got to run an errand. It may take me a little while and I may as well take Fred and George with me."

"Of course and tell Harry that I said hello!" She smiled smugly. "Close your mouth, mon amour. Remember, you married a clever witch."

"That I did," he said faintly. He dropped a kiss on her pouting lips. "I only hope that he knows where Ginny is."

Harry had been in love with Ginny. To Fleur it was as clear as the straight little nose on her face. There was no way that he would have left her behind. Their plan had been very ingenious. But her husband... he was a man. Intelligent though he was, he sometimes missed the subtler nuances of a blossoming relationship. She could be wrong but she doubted it. "You think that he does?" Fleur had a smile on her lips.

Bill shrugged. "I don't know. He has to because if he doesn't…" He kissed her again and returned to his brothers. Placing his cloak about his shoulders, he fished around in his pockets. Sure enough, there was a crumpled piece of blank parchment in one of them.

"Is that it?" asked George.

"Must be," murmured Bill. Holding out his wand he waved it over the parchment. "Reveal yourself," he intoned. Words appeared on the piece of parchment in Harry's familiar loopy scrawl.

"Shielhill Cottage," Bill said aloud. "It's up north somewhere," he said. "Accio map!"

"I think he's left you a grid reference." Fred pointed to a series of numbers. "It's an address in the traditional sense."

"That's a very Muggle thing to do," observed George. "But safer if he's dealing with wizards."

"But Harry often thinks like a Muggle. He was brought up as one," said Fred.

"That's why I've asked for a map," growled Bill. "You're sounding as bad as Hermione."

"We don't want that, do we Gred?" asked George, horror on his face. "Although it could be said that our brother has kindly given us a compliment. Our sister-in-law to be is an extremely intelligent witch."

"Do you still have a store of illegal portkeys?" asked Bill. "We could apparate but this would be easier and would take less energy."

"We do," said the twins together.

Bill tried not to let his exasperation show. "Do you happen to have any about your person?"

Fred produced a pink-satin ballet slipper from somewhere in his robes. "Luckily, we are prepared for many an eventuality and indeed carry such an item about our persons."

"I won't ask where you acquired that," Bill shook his head.

"And we'll never tell," said the twins in unison.

Bill checked the map references once more, visualised the site he'd landed on the previous evening and tapped the ballet slipper with his wand. "Shielhill, Portus." He looked up at his brothers and grinned. "Ready?"

Fred and George grinned, "Ready," and three hands reached for the dancing shoe.

The familiar feeling of being sucked by their stomachs through a very thin tube indicated that the ballet slipper jaunt had been successful.

"You've landed us in the middle of nowhere, Bill," muttered Fred.

"No," said Bill, with relief. "If you look behind you, there's a signpost marked with the name of the place we want to go to. I think that it's not exactly a settlement - more of an area."

"Then it is in the middle of nowhere," said George. "Good idea, too, if you want to hide from Muggles and dark wizards."

Bill stood for a moment, letting the surroundings fill his senses and work with his magic. Curse breaking was sometimes an instinctual art and Bill was very good at it. A quick check up into the clear night sky confirmed his thoughts. "It's this way." Ten minutes later they came upon a set of large grey metal gates and as they approached, the gates swung open. "I remember these from last night."

"It looks as if we are expected," said Fred, giving the metalwork an admiring stare.

"It's not far now." Bill led the way up the long twisting drive until the house came into view.

"Nice place he's got here," said George, looking suitably impressed. "Well hidden, too. Did you go inside yesterday?"

"No," said Bill. "Harry came out to us."

"It's a very grown-up house," said Fred slowly. "Harry means business living here with his Muggle. She's probably never met wizards apart from Harry before. It's going to be interesting to see how she copes with the rest of us."

"But how could Harry have married without having a proper Weasley Wedding party?" asked George.

"He was in hiding," said Bill. "The reason why he's not been seen in the wizarding world for over five years?"

"He could still have let us know," muttered Fred. "'Hey, guys, I married a Muggle but don't come and find us as we're in hiding.'"

"You're being ridiculous, Fred. He's been in hiding for a reason." Bill's face was tight with irritation. "Come on."

As they approached the front door it swung open and Harry stood waiting for them in the hallway. "Come in," he said with a shiver. "It's very cold out there tonight. "I wouldn't be surprised if we have a hard frost. It'll be slippery tomorrow." He ushered them inside, nervously muttering the polite phrases and found himself engulfed by two identical wizards.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," they said in the way of Gilderoy Lockhart, their useless DADA professor in Harry's second year, but there were tears in their eyes.

"Guys, I'd like to breathe," wheezed Harry. "You're crushing me to death and I'm supposed to be finished off by Voldemort, not my adopted family."

Bill looked on with a smile on his face. He'd already gone through something like this the previous evening.

"You consider us family?" queried the twins, who were now thumping Harry on the back.

"Yes," said Harry, wondering if he'd be black and blue the next morning. "I told Bill that yesterday. Surely you knew."

"We knew. We wondered if you did?" said Bill.

The twins let him go and again there was an awkward silence. Harry coughed nervously and fiddled with his shirt cuffs for a moment. "Come through to the lounge. We can't remain standing out here in the entrance hall."

Fred assessed Harry, taking in the thin frame dressed in a Muggle suit and the messy hair. "You seem different."

"Five years is a long time," said Harry lamely.

"You've still got brown eyes," said George.

"I told you - Muggle contact lenses," said Harry. "I can only wear them for so long as they irritate my eyes - not enough tears apparently. My eyes are a little too dry. But it was the only way to disguise the colour."

"Your hair isn't as dark and you're taller," said Bill. "I didn't notice that yesterday.

"Muggle hair dye," said Harry. "As for being taller… I suppose I have gained an inch or two over the years. You didn't see me that last time in Diagon Alley as I was under my invisibility cloak. I couldn't remain that short forever."

"Actually," declared Fred with a frown, "you remind me of Dad's second cousin, the one that is an accountant."

"I've got a job in a bank." Harry grinned at the three astonished faces. "So you're close with the 'accountant'." He'd always loved the idea that the Weasleys were slightly ashamed of the accountant whereas his own relatives had been horrified at having a witch and a wizard in the family.

"You have a job?" breathed George.

Harry shrugged. "I had to do something with my time or I'd have gone madder than Moody."

The twins chanted "constant vigilance" once more.

"I'm not used to sitting about doing nothing. Plus, I don't think that the wife would have let me." He ushered the three wizards into the lounge and waved his hand towards the comfortable brown leather sofas.

Bill looked around as they divested themselves of their cloaks. He'd noted that Harry was reluctant to talk about this mystery woman and he could understand it. Did the young wizard realise how much danger she could be in because she'd married him? He placed his cloak carefully over the arm of one of the chairs. "Where _is_ your wife?"

Harry shifted uneasily. "She's probably in the kitchen. She wanted to give us a little time first and thought we might want a cup of tea and a sandwich or something."

"What's her name?" asked Fred.

"And how did you meet her?" added George quickly. "We want details."

"I...ah..." They could sense Harry's reluctance.

"Look, Harry, we won't do anything to her. No pranks or hexes," said Fred. "Wizard's oath. If she's your wife, then she's family."

Harry had gone pale. "Her name's…Jenny."

Bill's blue eyes narrowed at that. "Jenny? You married a girl called Jenny?" This wasn't right. Harry shouldn't be married to some anonymous Muggle called Jenny. His voice rose angrily. "I thought that you loved our sister. Where's Ginny, Harry?"

"What!" Harry jumped to his feet. "Ginny!" He looked like a startled deer caught in headlights. "I'll just see what's keeping the tea." He had to get out of here. He was going to have to learn to hide things better than this. This wasn't even a hoard of Death Eaters; these were his brothers-in-law – although they didn't know they were his brothers-in-law.

The Weasleys looked at each other in confusion as Harry's rangy frame raced from the room. "I'll go and see if everything's alright," muttered Bill, getting to his feet. "If I didn't know any better I'd say he was…scared."

"Give him a few minutes first. He's certainly wary of letting out any information," observed George. "All the photographs in this room are covered by an Obscuro spell. I could try a Finite Incantem but somehow I don't think that will work."

"He knows where Ginny is," declared Fred quietly. "He knows what's happened to her."

Bill froze and then slowly turned his head to look back at his brothers. "Are you sure?"

Fred nodded. "He was waiting for you to mention her and as soon as you did he was up and out of here."

"That's it! I want answers and I want them now." Bill stalked to the door through which Harry had disappeared.

"Bill…" The twins looked at one another.

"Merlin!" exclaimed Fred. "We'd better go and see that he doesn't do any damage. It's getting near the full moon and his temper is always that bit more unpredictable and this is a very nice house."

Bill pushed open the door and found Harry with his arms around what had to be his wife, her long, dark hair, caught at the crown of her head with a red ribbon, curled down her back almost to her waist.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked softly, tenderly tracing a hand over Ginny's cheek.

"As I'll ever be," she said.

The door gave a tell-tale creak and the Potters stiffened. Harry lifted his head and stared at Bill whilst the young woman – Jenny – removed herself from his arms and, without turning round, moved to pour tea into large blue mugs.

"Harry," Bill said, his voice cracking painfully. "I need to know. Do you know where Ginny is?" He was joined in the kitchen by the twins.

"Guys," Harry said with a sidelong glance at the woman calmly placing pieces of cake onto a plate, her face hidden. "This is my wife."

The girl hesitated, as if she was building herself up to do something momentous and then turned to face them. "Hello, Bill, Fred…George," Ginny said calmly. "Long time no see."

"This is my wife," Harry repeated, sounding proud and a little afraid. "May I introduce you to Ginny Potter?"

You could have heard the rustle of the tiniest beetle's wings in the kitchen and then they were all laughing, crying and embracing one another.

Finally Ginny grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes. "Please." She indicated the tea and the cake. "I made it myself."

Five minutes later they were all sitting around the scrubbed wooden table nursing their mugs of tea. It didn't replace five years of hurt and loss but it helped.

"Actually," Ginny said with a smile, "I usually go by the name of Jenny Peters. This is my husband, Gary."

The twins chortled. "Jenny and Gary Peters. Funny."

"Easy to remember," said Harry. "When telling lies, keep as close to the truth as possible. Easier to remember."

"How's mum," asked Ginny softly.

Bill gave her a reassuring smile. "Doing fine," he said. "Missing you, worrying about you, still ruling the roost and trying to feed any witch or wizard that crosses her path."

"How long did she stay in St Mungos?" asked Ginny, relief on her pretty face.

"After you left?" Bill frowned. "Another three months and then she went back and fore for check-ups. Still does but not as frequently now. She's currently running compulsory family dinners and every so often cooks for a meeting at Grimmauld Place. Now that we know you're both still alive you'll have to start attending."

"I wanted to see her so much," Ginny admitted sadly. "But it was just too risky." She reached out and grabbed Harry's hand. "I couldn't marry Malfoy. I just couldn't. They would have forced me into it at wand point if they'd found me."

"How long have you been together?" asked Bill. He thought he knew the answer but was going to ask the question anyhow. "Did you meet up by accident or was this planned from the start?" His sister was happy and smiling. He wasn't sure about the dark brown hair but Weasley red was very distinctive and would certainly make someone look at Ginny more than once. He couldn't remember her hair ever being that long before either.

Harry snorted. "I don't know about 'planned'. I had a plan for myself. I was going to leave anyway. That's another whole story which I'll tell you about in a minute. When Malfoy made his claim I immediately asked Ginny if she wanted to come with me."

"And I did."

"Excuse me a moment," muttered Harry, getting to his feet with a quick glance at his wife. "I need to…get these lenses out of my eyes. I'll only be a moment." He disappeared through the door and they heard his footsteps running up the stairs.

"More tea?" asked Ginny.

"How long have you been married?" enquired George.

"Four years." Ginny smiled. "We got married in a Muggle church. Actually, it's very close to Diagon Alley. There was just Harry and I, the Minister and his wife and a couple of church elders as witnesses. I wore Mum's wedding dress."

"The blue velvet?" asked Bill.

"Yes." Ginny's mouth curved into a smile. "It was a lovely ceremony but sad, because my family couldn't be there." She glanced up at the kitchen door as Harry pushed it open. "We had to get married because Potter wouldn't let me have my wicked way with him."

Fred blanched. "There are some things a brother does not need to know, Gin."

"I was respecting my witch," said Harry with a virtuous expression on his face. "I thought you'd be pleased that I was considering the feelings of her brothers. Not every wizard would be so understanding."

"We are really pleased but we don't need details," muttered George.

"You've had no magical backlash at all?" asked Bill.

Ginny frowned. "From what?"

"Failure to complete your betrothal," said Bill. "Lucius Malfoy would have spared no expense making sure that you were tied into this marriage. There can be some nasty clauses inserted in contracts like these. They're never in the best interests of the witch."

Harry's green eyes sparkled wickedly behind his round spectacle frames. "Let me tell you a little fact about this so-called magical betrothal." He smirked at his wife who waggled her eyebrows in return.

"I never touched the parchment," she said smugly. "Harry made sure that I didn't."

"What!" The three Weasley brothers sat with mouths open in stunned shock.

"I would close those gaping holes," said Ginny. "There are no flies in this part of the country at this time of year but…"

Harry grinned. "Many contracts need to be touched by the recipient to seal the deal. Ginny refused to accept it and therefore didn't touch it. Neither did I for that matter."

"Oh," Bill began to grin. "So all that searching we did was all for nothing?"

"No. It just made us all very knowledgeable about binding magical contracts and how to protect ourselves from them."

Ginny took over the tale. "There were other loopholes that no-one considered. We had the greatest wizarding minds on the task and they all failed to see the obvious."

"Percy came to give the contract to me _on_ my seventeenth birthday. I was of age not under it as he kept saying. They had it drawn up before I was of age but he presented it to me on my birthday. I was an adult witch."

"You're saying that Percy got the date wrong?" asked Fred.

"No, I don't think that he got the date wrong exactly," Harry said thoughtfully. "But he wanted to be present on her birthday. The party was the day after, so he could have got mixed up over his grand gesture."

"He could have", chuckled George.

"Percy doesn't make that kind of mistakes. I think he was doing everything for show as usual." Ginny's face told them all what she thought of her estranged brother. "The betrothal would take place on my birthday for maximum effect."

"So even if she had touched it, I don't know if the spell would have been binding." Harry shrugged. "She could have just given in. Dumbledore was so certain that there was nothing we could do that she might as well have been tied to Draco on the spot. Ginny and I had already claimed one another and we felt the magic take hold."

Fred and George were grinning but at Harry's last sentence they stopped. "Already claimed?"

Harry sat up straight. "As soon as I saw Malfoy, I knew that something was up. He would never have set foot in The Burrow otherwise." A sneer Severus Snape would have been proud of crossed his face. "And please, Percy Weasley in cahoots with Lucius Malfoy? That was no innocent deal Percy was brokering. Draco Malfoy had been watching Ginny very carefully all of that last year and I thought rightly that it might have something to do with her."

"We made a blood oath," said Ginny simply.

Bill's eyes flew to his sister in alarm. "What sort of words did you say?"

"We didn't use words," said Harry. "We didn't need to. Ginny and I belonged together. We'd only split up to protect her."

"As if that was going to work!" Ginny said dismissively. "Mum's clock has had the whole family at mortal peril since I was in my third year. I was never in favour of that plan for us to split up but if it made Harry worry less about me, then I was prepared to bide my time. I knew I'd get him back eventually."

"Our magic recognised our claim on one another – I felt the spell take hold. I was making preparations to leave the magical world as soon as I was ready. When Malfoy made his bid to take Ginny away from me I just changed my plans and took her with me."

"Yes, but I went first so that it would confuse everyone. Everyone couldn't believe that Harry hadn't vanished with me. Let me tell you that I was terrified."

"Where did you go?" asked George.

"I have a flat in London…"

"It's very close to Diagon Alley," chipped in Ginny. "Walking distance. Your Metamorph Munchies meant that I didn't need a disguise."

"You fled in disguise," said Fred. "Ingenious."

"You helped _me_ get away, Bill," said Harry. "Your spat with Percy in the middle of the street meant that I was able to walk out of the wizarding world covered by my cloak."

Bill's eyes narrowed. "I get the feeling that I'm just about to ask the important question."

"Ask away," said Harry.

"Why were you leaving, Harry?"

"One of the reasons was that I'd lost my magic," said Harry quietly. "Other reasons…exactly what I told you earlier. They put far too much pressure upon a child and then wondered why I was unhappy?" He sighed. "A hex from Voldemort during a Death Eater attack drained my abilities away." He stared down at the surface of the table not wanting to see the horror or pity in their eyes. "I couldn't even do the simplest of spells."

"The fight at Hogsmeade," stated Fred. "Dumbledore said that you AK'd Voldemort out of his body again."

"Voldemort likes to taunt his victim – namely me - with the manner in which they will lose their lives. He sent the hex at me and then I knew he was preparing to kill me. I had nothing left to lose and sent the Unforgivable his way."

Bill swore. "Harry…"

"Yes, but the curse he fired drained away my magic gradually over the next month. The more magic I used the quicker it drained away. I had to let it all go before it could start to repair itself. I didn't want anyone to know because it made me extremely vulnerable. I was a sitting duck unable to defend myself against any sort of magic."

"It's a very dark curse," said Ginny. "We were lucky that Madam Pomfrey was close to Harry and had read up on the curse a day or so before the battle. She performed certain saving techniques that probably rescued his magic by stabilizing his core and allowing for the recovery to take place."

"Dumbledore did nothing," said Harry. "He knew what had happened but it took him a whole month before he told me what I already knew. I think that deep down he wanted me to be less powerful. For all I've done to save my friends and family, there are people in the wizarding world that still think I want to succeed Voldemort. You know how I'm perceived. I'm either their saviour or a deluded liar. I don't want to be the next dark lord. I want to live in peace with my family but I sometimes wonder if Dumbledore believes that of me, too."

"Dumbledore threatened to send Harry back to his relatives even though he was of age," declared Ginny indignantly. "Can you believe it?" She looked to Fred and George for confirmation of her outrage. "You know how his relatives treated him."

"Oh, they didn't beat me within an inch of my life but there are other ways to abuse a child. They didn't want me and gave me virtually no love and precious little care. Me being there as an adult just wouldn't work. What was Dumbledore thinking of? Okay, I couldn't defend myself if a Death Eater decided to challenge me in the street," muttered Harry. "But I couldn't return to Privet Drive and stay with people who hated me. That would have killed me. In fact, did Dumbledore expect me not to leave my room in Privet Drive for several years? He might as well have placed me in Azkaban."

Ginny placed her hand over Harry's and gave it a gentle squeeze. She turned to her brothers. "Before he died, Sirius made plans with the goblins for Harry's future. He wasn't happy with the way Dumbledore, the Order and the Ministry were treating Harry. He arranged for the goblins to purchase on his behalf a couple of safe retreats for Harry."

"He wanted them to be in the Muggle world where I am unknown but have all the benefits that magic could provide. When Voldemort sent that curse after me, I decided to leave things non-magical for the moment. I told you that our flat is close to Diagon Alley and the location was carefully chosen so that it could mask my magical signature. With all the witches and wizards around, it would be harder to pick up on me if I happened to do something I shouldn't." He grinned at Ginny. "We stayed there for a year."

"You were that close and we never found you?" whispered Bill.

"Yes," Ginny smirked smugly. "There were a few near misses but they never spotted us. Harry calls it 'hiding in plain sight'."

"After a few weeks, people stopped actively looking for us around that area," continued Harry. "Most wizards thought we'd run as far as we could. I even caught sight of an article in one _Daily Prophet_ - it's amazing how some wizards can be so careless when getting rid of an old newspaper - that said we were in America." Harry ran his hands through his hair to no discernible effect. It still stuck up in all directions. "But Remus thought that we were still around."

"I had a part time job as a waitress in a café," said Ginny. "Remus and Tonks came in for a cup of tea on a couple of occasions and I nearly had to serve them. I thought we were Potions ingredients."

"Yes, that gave us a reality check. We'd been getting a little too overconfident," said Harry. "But they hadn't come anywhere close to finding us."

"We got married and then moved up here once the renovations on this house were complete. It's pretty isolated, so it's perfect for a wizard." Ginny took a sip of her tea. "We love this house. It won't be so far away now that you know where we are and now that Harry's magic has started to return we can begin to move back into wizarding society."

Harry nodded "At first Madam Pomfrey said that it would be ten years before my magic recovered. Now I'm hopeful that it will be less."

"No magic," said Fred, appalled. You really had no magic?"

"I said I was as powerful as a squib," admitted Harry. "I couldn't even do a Lumos spell. But it was easier for me to exist in this world than it was for Ginny. I didn't know that magic existed until I reached the age of eleven and I did without magic every summer holiday. I've lived my life without magic for longer than I did with it."

"Whereas, we were the complete opposite," murmured Ginny. She gazed around her kitchen. It was all hers…and Harry's. He liked to cook as much as she did. "Dad would be so proud of me and would have loved to spend time with us. Everything runs off electricity here. Can you imagine what he would have been like?"

Her brothers smiled fondly. Their father had been obsessed with Muggles and the way they managed to exist without magic.

"I'm going to see if I can eventually get the generator to run off magic," Harry announced decisively. "Most muggle technology doesn't run too well around heavy concentrations of magic." The kitchen light chose that moment to flicker wildly. "It does that."

Ginny checked the bulb. "Harry's more aggressively magical than I am…"

"You're just as strong as I am, Gin," Harry protested.

"Probably," she agreed aloud, although, she thought that Harry might have the edge. She could sometimes feel the power humming along his thin frame and it was definitely getting stronger. "But I think the electricity just about coped with one fully grown wizard in the house. I'm not sure about two."

"And currently there are five," said George."

"I think that it shows my magic's recovering," said Harry. "You will see Poppy for me? I gave her one of the Defence Association galleons but there's no guarantee she carries it with her. She has this test she does and it shows the state of my magical core. The first time she did it after I'd been hexed everything was black. But then, I couldn't even do the simplest of levitation spells."

Bill noted the younger man's anxious expression. It was unlikely that the mediwitch still carried a galleon around with her after five years. "I'll go and see Poppy, the first chance that we get," he soothed, experience as the eldest of a large family taking over. Harry had never had an easy life but to lose his magic like he had was tragic. Bill didn't know what he'd have done if that had happened to him. Harry had had every dark wizard in the country out to get him and little chance of defending himself. No wonder he'd chosen to run.

"How are the others?" asked Ginny.

"Ron is working in the office of Magical Sports and Games at the _Daily Prophet_," said Fred.

"Poppy told us that," said Ginny. "So he's still there?"

"It suits him very well and he's not really ambitious. Does a chess problem every day and gets to attend all the Quidditch matches he wants."

Ginny chuckled. "Good for him."

Bill frowned. "What do you mean, Poppy told you?"

"She came here a couple of years ago to check my magic," said Harry smoothly. "I'd had a couple of accidental outbursts. Oh, she knows we're okay but she has no idea where we are. We used one of those illegal portkeys you created for us. She should still have it."

Bill raised his eyebrows in surprise. Poppy had known more than anyone in the wizarding world and hadn't breathed a word to a soul.

"Patent healer confidentiality," said Harry.

George grinned. "Hermione works at the Ministry. She's Percy's assistant."

"She's still working for Percy?" asked Ginny and then shook her head at the expression on her brothers' faces. "Poppy told us, remember? They would certainly work well together and Percy wouldn't be able to complain about _her_ work."

Fred gave Ginny a look. "I'm not sure who is spying on whom."

"Probably a bit of both," muttered Harry and Ginny together. "That's what we said the last time."

Bill chuckled. "You're probably right. Percy has managed to get a promotion and took Hermione along with him but is nowhere near the exalted station he expected to be by now."

"Hermione and Ron…" Harry trailed off.

She and Ron got engaged two years ago but there's no sign of a wedding yet."

"Knowing those two," said Harry. "Ron won't be in any hurry and Hermione will be considering her career path."

"They've never given up on either of you," said Bill, a hint of censure in his voice.

"They're the hardest for me to deal with," admitted Harry. "And the ones I feel most regret over. It's not because I don't trust them – I do. But I can't trust them to do what I want. I thought it was safer for them if they had no knowledge of our plans. I don't know what I've done to our friendship by my behaviour but I'm not risking Ginny for anyone."

"Hermione trusts authority to the point of sometimes failing to see that they aren't always correct," stated Ginny forcefully, "and Ron cannot keep a secret under pressure. All someone has to do is to rile him up and watch things fall apart."

"Remus and Tonks have finally moved in together," mentioned George. "They man the fort at Grimmauld Place."

"Wonderful," said Harry. "And about time too. I knew that Tonks would wear the old wolf down eventually."

"He wants you to be his best man when he marries her, Harry," said Bill.

"I would be honoured but he should just go ahead and marry Tonks without me. It's not fair on Tonks."

"He won't do that. He's reluctant because of his furry little problem, too." Bill's fingers traced one of the scars on his own face. He'd been attacked by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback but fortunately, he'd escaped the horrible fate of becoming a wolf once a month. "It could so easily have been me."

"Remus is a wonderful wizard. One of the best," said Ginny. "Tonks should just drag him to the registrar."

"Hagrid has been spending some time on the continent," added Bill. "He and Madame Maxime are continuing their…friendship."

"I'm glad for Hagrid," murmured Ginny. "He always was keen on her."

Harry took a deep breath. "And Dumbledore?"

Bill couldn't help noticing that Harry's voice had been strangely neutral. He'd heard that they'd had 'issues' before Harry had left. "Nothing much changes as far as the headmaster is concerned. He's still splitting his time and attention between the school and the Wizengamot. He misses you, Harry. I think he deeply regrets the way that he treated you. That was another one of your reasons for leaving, wasn't it?"

"He should regret the way he treated Harry," Ginny cried fiercely. "He _should_!"

"He played chess with our lives," said Harry, bitterness in his tone. "I was treated the way I was because of his idea to foster the greater good scenario. I was a child... an individual... not some super-wizard. He didn't have the right to sacrifice me in this way." Harry's eyes were burning. "I'm not saying that I was perfect in all of this. I wasn't. I made mistakes dealing with Dumbledore and with Ron and Hermione, too. But hindsight is a wonderful luxury that I didn't have at the time."

There was an awkward silence. In an attempt to move past the subject of the headmaster, Bill muttered suddenly, "Fleur says 'hello'. She guessed what I was up to."

"Can't keep anything from your wife," said Fred admiringly.

"She guessed. I said nothing. Fidelius charm, remember?" Bill said indignantly.

Harry's face brightened. He was very fond of Bill's wife. "How is the beauteous Fleur?"

"She's very well, in fact she's…" He stopped, closed his mouth on what he was going to say and instead finished with, "she's wonderful."

"That's how Harry refers to me," Ginny said smugly. Her days of referring to the French beauty as 'Phlegm' were long gone. Fleur had chosen to be with Bill despite is badly scarred face. She loved him as much as Ginny loved Harry.

"Oh, all the time Ginny-love." Harry winked at her.

"Where do we go from here?" asked Bill. "When are you coming home?"

Ginny and Harry reached for one another. "This is my home, Bill," Ginny said. "This is my 'Burrow'."

"Bill didn't mean it like that," said Fred. "We're wondering when you're coming back to the magical world."

"When it's safe," said Harry promptly. "We'll return when it's safe and only then."

"Harry," Ginny drawled, her face grave. "It's never going to be safe - not for us. Now's as good a time as any to tell them. We still have our secrets to keep but this one can't wait."

The three Weasley brothers became serious. "We're listening," said George.

"The real reason I contacted Gringotts and asked for Bill's help in warding our property, wasn't just because I wanted to keep my family safe…" He took a deep breath. "There's no easy way to tell you this…but…"

Bill looked at his brothers. He had a churning feeling in his stomach as if he knew what Harry was about to tell him. Charlie's last report from Rumania had mentioned one or two disturbing things. "Go on, Harry."

"On Halloween, Voldemort regained his corporeal form once more. The third rising has begun."

Ginny turned her head into Harry's shoulder to hide her tears, wondering if Bill knew the contents of the prophecy regarding Harry. Had Dumbledore informed the Order of the necessity of locating Harry? Without the Boy-who-lived they would be unable to destroy Voldemort.

Fred and George let off a stream of curses. Bill's face paled but he said nothing.

"This is not news I ever wanted to give you," Harry whispered.

Bill swallowed and then said quietly, "To tell you the truth, Harry, I cannot say that I'm surprised about this. There have been rumours for several months now of a darkness growing in Eastern Europe. That's where Voldemort's shade was known to be hiding the last time. Charlie's last letter from Rumania told of a co-worker disappearing. He's never been found. I've noticed that some wizards with suspected links to the Death Eaters have become more confident in their behaviour. It's just little things but they add up."

The Potter's recounted the story of the lights in the wood and then finding Snape, bruised and unconscious a day later. "They'd left him to die," spat Harry in disgust. He didn't like the Potions Master but he accepted that the man performed a dangerous task.

"We knew he was missing," confessed Bill. "And although Snape often goes on these little working jaunts, he's never not come back on time before. The Order was worried this time."

Harry's arm tightened around Ginny. "The manner in which he was injured reminded me of a certain Tri-wizard competition. The evidence was too strong and I came to the only conclusion I could. Voldemort has arisen once again." He pointed to the scar on his forehead. "Since Halloween, I've begun to feel a familiar prickling sensation in my scar – a sort of dull ache. I've not felt that for over five years."

"Then do you think that he can find you?" asked George.

"We're under the Fidelius and I can do Occlumency fairly well now, so I shouldn't think so. He may try and assail me through my dreams and certainly by attacking my friends and family. But I'll just have to wait and see." He looked at his wife, still clinging to his side. "I have more to lose this time."

Ginny lifted her head, her brown eyes defiant. "Our family comes first," she said.

Harry nodded his agreement. "Whatever the old man decides to do or say, I'll listen to his advice but I and…" he glanced down at Ginny again, "my wife will discuss what we plan to do. She keeps telling me that she's the brains in our operation and that I should listen to her."

"I can see how that would be a good plan," said Fred.

"Until I know the true state of my magic I cannot return. If there's any doubt, I will have to stay hidden. I couldn't defend myself against the mildest of hexes. But I won't dismiss Dumbledore's advice. He is the only one Voldemort was ever afraid of. Although I hope that snake-face might be wary of me these days."

"Do you think that your magic is back?" Bill stared hard at Harry.

"I do, actually, but whether it's a partial or full recovery I need to be certain."

"Sensible idea," said Bill.

Guys, Snape really wasn't in a good way when I sent him back to Hogwarts. If he's still out of it or worse, dead, then you need to tell the Order that Voldemort is about to cause mayhem once more. They have to know."

The three redheaded wizards nodded.

"Fair enough," Bill said. "But I take it that you'd like me not to mention the existence of you and Ginny as my source just yet?"

"Yes," said Ginny. "We're going to contact the rest of the family in our own good time. Say that it's a Gringotts contact." She smirked impishly. "It's not a lie."

"You sure you were in Gryffindor, Mrs. Potter?" Bill checked his watch. "Look at the time. We'd better be going."

Harry let go of Ginny and ran his fingers through his hair and again it didn't make any difference. "I'm working tomorrow. Got to pay those bills."

"What about keeping in touch?" Ginny enquired. "Owls are a bit risky. They can be tracked and intercepted."

Harry stiffened. He'd sent Hedwig to stay with Hagrid when he'd left the magical world and he missed her more than he say. "You don't have a telephone, do you?"

The Weasleys shook their heads. "Sorry, Harry. "We'll look into getting one. I'm sure Hermione has a mobile one," said Fred.

"She's got Muggle parents. That's how she keeps in contact with them," said George. "Until Harry tells Hermione that he's back, I suspect that we can't just borrow hers to phone Harry and Ginny. But she would be able to advise us on one to get."

Fred got to his feet and wandered around the kitchen. "How about we set a time and you contact us via the mirrors?"

"Floo is not an option yet, unfortunately," said Ginny.

Bill yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I would expect an Order meeting to be called within the next couple of days now that Snape has been found. Dumbledore will want to pass on the news. He'll understand the significance of Snape's condition."

"It will depend on how he is," said Harry. "If he's regained consciousness, they'll have information of sorts. I need to know what the Order knows. Whatever happens, Snape is going to be as pissed as hell. He won't know that it's me who saved his life and I'm not sure that I want to tell him. He hates me enough as it is."

Fred gave a crow of awed amazement. "Snape has a life debt to you."

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose he does," murmured Harry. "Strange. However, his spying days are over and I would guess that Snape is the type that wants to be useful."

"We need to know what's happening with the Order of the Phoenix. You can't let us be kept in the dark, Bill," pleaded Ginny. "It wouldn't be fair."

"Okay." Bill didn't need to be persuaded. He reckoned that it was Harry and Ginny's right to know what was happening.

"Don't look Dumbledore in the eye," warned Ginny, "or Snape. Remember they can read your thoughts. They can't learn about us yet."

"If you could tell Poppy that I want to see her and it's urgent. But tell her its 'good urgent' and not 'bad urgent'."

"We will, Harry" said George. "I think we also need to brush up on our Occlumency skills."

Harry tapped a finger against his lips. "There are books in the library at Grimmauld Place. Hermione will know where they are."

"Harry, can we apparate from here now or do we have to walk five miles down the road?" asked Fred, pulling on his cloak.

"You can do it from here now," said Harry, watching as Ginny rushed around to hug her brothers. "Keep in touch," he said.

"We will," replied Bill.

Three pops and they were gone.

"Jamie?" asked Ginny.

"He was sound asleep when I went to change out of my lenses and into my specs. I stuck my head around the bedroom door."

"I thought you might have," said Ginny. "It was good to see them, wasn't it?"

Harry grinned. "It was and now I feel that we really have moved forward with our life."

Ginny placed the mugs in the dishwasher and began switching off the lights. "Come on, Mr. Potter. It's time we got some sleep."

Harry yawned. "Yes, let's sleep while we still have the chance." He slipped his wand into his hand and murmured. "Nox."

21


	25. Chapter 25

The Unbreakable Vow 25

**The Unbreakable Vow 25**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Hogwarts**

Albus Dumbledore sighed deeply, something he seemed to be doing a lot of recently. He was also feeling every one of his one hundred and fifty odd years. His trademark twinkle was completely absent from his blue eyes because the news he was processing was anything but joyous. He opened his mouth to say something and found that he could not. He looked down at the quill in his shaking hands and stilled their trembling.

Minerva McGonagall looked at her long-time friend and colleague with concern. "Albus," she said softly, her soft Scottish voice laced with concern.

"Call the Order, Minerva. It has to be done and they must be told. It's not fair to keep this from them."

Minerva reached out and patted one of his wrinkled hands. "You knew this day would come again, Albus. He was going to come back just like he did the last time."

"I knew…but I hoped that it would never come." They'd had five years of an uneasy peace but it wasn't enough – it wasn't nearly enough. "We could have done more – we should have been able to help Harry. We've now lost that chance."

"We've made a lot of progress…" she began.

"Not enough, Minerva."

Minerva shook her head and said briskly. "We haven't lost that chance. We can still help Harry do what he has to."

"Harry's gone, Minerva, and I don't know where he is. I'm not surprised that he lost his faith in me. He became a man in front of my eyes and I didn't see it. I was obsessed with giving him the childhood he was never going to have. He's vulnerable in both worlds and it was my fault."

"Harry's resourceful. He won't have given up and will find a way - maybe he already has," Minerva claimed stoutly. "He'll find a way to repair his magic. He's a remarkable young man and now we have a clue to his whereabouts. It's a slim clue but it's more than we had before."

The headmaster gave a slow nod. "He's alive."

"He came through for us. Severus would not have survived if he had been left to lie unattended any longer." Her lips twitched. "Although, I'm not sure if Severus would want to survive and again be indebted to a Potter. Harry will do the right thing."

Dumbledore sat up straight. "True," he murmured softly. Her words had given him new heart. He had to have faith. "Call the Order," he repeated. "We have to give them the information."

Minerva's lips tightened but she nodded. Lifting her wand, she cast her Patronus and watched as several translucent cats sped away.

_**xxxx**_

Remus Lupin arrived at the gates of Hogwarts clutching tightly to the hand of Nymphadora Tonks, followed closely by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hermione Granger who had been summoned from the Ministry of Magic.

"This is the first time that I've left work on time for months," Hermione was saying animatedly. "Percy always has overtime for me to do and I don't mind really. I'm enjoying the work but it's nice just to walk out at five like everyone else does. I wonder why Professor Dumbledore is asking us to gather at Hogwarts during term time. I mean, the Order usually meets at Grimmauld Place."

Remus stepped forward. "Hermione, Kingsley," he murmured, "I believe I can answer that."

Hermione stopped talking. "What's wrong?" she asked. The werewolf looked more drained than usual and the hope that they would be dealing with something routine drained away.

"You heard about Snape?"

Hermione shook her bushy head. "No. Percy's had a lot of extra work for me to do with the new Floo network about to open and I was unable to make the last meeting."

Remus sighed. "Come on, we must hurry." They began making their way towards the castle. "Snape attended a meeting on Halloween…"

"What sort of a meeting," asked Hermione.

"It was purported to be a social gathering," Remus' smile was glacial.

"That doesn't sound too serious," said Hermione.

Remus refrained from saying anything but gave her a look which left her feeling foolish.

"It was held at Malfoy Manor," Tonks snapped, unable to keep quiet. "You've been in the Order long enough to know that Snape has to attend these do's and they contain the members of wizarding society that the Aurors would most like to consign to Azkaban. Every time he attends one of these meetings, he risks his life."

"Please, Dora." Remus pleaded.

"For all your intelligence, Hermione, sometimes you don't think." Tonks wasn't letting the bushy- haired witch get away with anything.

Hermione looked stricken. "I'm sorry, Tonks," she said quietly.

"Snape wasn't seen again for two whole days and that is cause enough for an alarm," said Remus wearily. "He never leaves the school for more than an evening during term time. When he did turn up, it was unconscious, badly beaten and left at the school gates."

Kingsley closed his eyes. "He's alive?"

"Yes."

"Has he regained consciousness?"

"Not that I know of."

Kingsley swore.

Hermione was glad that Ron was arriving with his mother and not there to say something tactless. No matter how many times she told him that Snape was on their side, Ron could never quite believe it. Snape had been unfair to her and Ron from the moment he had met them but that paled in comparison to his treatment of Harry. "He still keeps up with his old…er contacts on a regular basis?" she enquired delicately.

Tonks snorted. "You could say that."

"He doesn't want to do it, you know." Remus produced a light at the end of his wand and headed away from the front of the school. "This way," he murmured. "We don't want to be tramping our way through the main entrance hall just before dinner."

"Dumbledore is worried," said Tonks. "And with good reason, I think."

Ahead, the small group saw the outline of an open door and the distinctive shape of a certain witch waiting for them.

"There's Minerva ahead," observed Kingsley as he lengthened his stride.

The Transfiguration professor ushered them quickly inside. "Good. I'm glad you got here so promptly. Hestia and Dedalus arrived a few minutes ago so I think that's everyone who can manage."

Hermione shrewdly assessed her former teacher. By the way the witch held herself, Hermione could tell that Professor McGonagall was tense and on edge.

Minerva glanced at the Order members without meeting their eyes. "Quickly now. Follow me."

They followed her along a corridor, Hermione couldn't remember seeing before, but this was Hogwarts and nothing could surprise her as far as this building was concerned.

"Polo mints!" Minerva intoned to the gargoyle guarding the stairs to Professor Dumbledore's office. The statue shifted aside and they began the slow spiral up to Dumbledore's sanctum.

When they arrived, Hermione noted the crowd of anxious faces, some familiar and some she'd never seen before. Dumbledore was recruiting again and she didn't like to think what that might mean. She spotted Ron next to his mother. He motioned to the empty chair next to him and with a thankful smile, she slipped in beside him.

"What's happening?" she asked him quietly. "Remus filled me in on some of it but..."

Ron shrugged. "Don't know." He glanced at his mother. "Mum?"

Molly Weasley shook her head, looking concerned. "It's something to do with Snape. That's all I know."

The door swung open before Ron could make any disparaging comments about the Potions Professor and Dumbledore stepped through. "I'm glad to see so many of you could make it this evening," he said. "I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy lives." The headmaster sat down behind his desk, smoothing down his rich purple robes as he did so, then laying his wand on the desk in front of him.

"What of Severus?" asked Remus immediately.

"He regained consciousness two days ago and was able to speak to me this morning. The news he had to tell me was not good." Dumbledore looked down at his hands. These were the wrinkled, vein-streaked hands of an old man. He was too old for this but he had no choice. To do nothing was unthinkable.

"He's back, isn't he?" The gruff voice belonged to the retired Auror, Mad-Eye Moody, a man scarred and mutilated by countless battles against dark wizards. Moody had put many a Death Eater behind bars and knew the score. There was only one wizard that could inspire such quiet dread. Moody knew the name of the wizard who had returned ready to plunge the wizarding world into such darkness.

"Alastor…" Dumbledore let his gaze linger on the friends, former pupils and colleagues that he would be endangering once more. "Yes, we cannot hide from the truth any longer. The eye of the storm has passed and we shall be blown by its winds soon enough. Voldemort has returned once more." A good majority of the witches and wizards in front of him flinched and cried out at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. How could they fight him when they couldn't even hear his name mentioned?

"Quiet!" Moody shouted above the noise, his magical eye swivelling around the room before finally coming to rest on the headmaster's face. "We'll do what we did before, Albus. We'll fight him as best we can. We'd best start thinking about recruiting again and at least Scrimgeour's not Fudge." He was talking about the current head of the Ministry of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. The former, Cornelius Fudge, had refused to believe them when they'd revealed Voldemort's second rising. "All this shrieking and moaning won't get the job done."

"He's right," said Remus.

Albus found his eyes tracking to where Bill Weasley stood with his pretty French wife and twin brothers. The head of the Weasley clan hadn't looked surprised in the least by the news of Voldemort's return. The goblins did have their own ways of getting information and would have told certain wizards in their employ. Added to that, Bill's brother Charlie was still working at the Rumanian dragon reserve. There had been strange reports coming from the East – just like before.

"So, it's come at last," said Remus. "We've had longer than we thought."

"It's still not long enough," said Minerva.

"Severus can no longer act as our spy in Voldemort's camp." The headmaster uttered this with a weary finality. "If he's lucky, they'll assume that they've already killed him. They nearly succeeded."

"I'm surprised that his spying remained undetected for so long. It pays testament to the man's skill and strength of character," Kingsley observed. "Many of us were unsure where his loyalties truly lay."

Ron muttered something under his breath about trusting Snape which luckily only Hermione heard and earned him a sharp dig in the ribs. "Grow up, Ron," she hissed.

"I have always trusted Severus Snape." Dumbledore steepled his long fingers in front of him. "He's in the infirmary under the care of Madam Pomfrey and is truly lucky to be alive. They tortured him and would have left him to die if he hadn't been found by an amazing twist of fate and transported to the school."

"How did he escape?" asked Molly Weasley. "They don't normally just let their enemies go."

"He was left to die and a passing wizard found him, recognised him and portkeyed him to us," explained Dumbledore, keeping the facts to a minimum. It helped that he knew little more than that.

"You expect us to believe that a passing wizard just happened to stumble over Snape?" asked Ron.

"That's exactly what happened, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore's voice was calm and controlled.

"Do we know the wizard that did so?" Ron asked. "Is he or she one of us and can we trust them? Or do we need to find them and Obliviate them?"

Dumbledore glanced at his deputy headmistress.

"We should tell them," she urged softly.

"We were lucky. The wizard who found Severus understood the need for secrecy and sent him straight to us rather than St. Mungos. Our Potions professor would not have survived if he'd been sent there. Voldemort has his agents and spies in every place." Dumbledore gazed around the room and everyone present suddenly realised what he was about to say would change everything. "It was Harry Potter," he said finally.

All hell broke loose. If it hadn't been under such serious circumstances, Albus might have found it amusing. He raised his wand and sent a shower of red and gold sparks into the air. "Thank you," he said as the cacophony subsided.

"Potter!" exclaimed Moody suspiciously. "Potter helped Snape? The boy cannot stand the man."

"Harry would not let that stop him from saving someone," stated Dumbledore.

Ron stood up. "Snape saw _Harry_. Are you sure it was Harry?"

Momentarily there was an angry expression in the twinkling blue eyes but it passed quickly. "Quite sure, Mr. Weasley."

Ron's mouth dropped open in horror. "Does that mean that Harry has turned dark – that he's joined You-know-who?"

The twins and Bill were instantly on their feet shouting at Ron in disbelief.

Hermione pulled Ron back into his chair. "Professor Dumbledore, how could Professor Snape have seen Harry? If he was as injured as you say…"

"A good question, Miss Granger," said Albus. "I wondered about that too. But I can assure you, I believe Severus is telling the truth. He was inclined to disbelieve it himself. People at the point of death have many strange tales of their experiences. Severus thought he was seeing James Potter, his childhood enemy, guiding him into the afterlife."

Remus closed his eyes looking pained. "Why did he change his mind? What made Severus think that it was Harry?"

"The young man in his vision gave us three clues. One, he had green eyes; two, he called him 'Professor…'"

Remus let out a dry chuckle. "James would never have referred to Severus in such a fashion."

Dumbledore sighed. "I agree."

"What was the third reason?" asked Tonks, her hair shifting from bubblegum pink to a dark mauve.

"This," said the headmaster. He held out his hand and in it was a seven sided silver coin.

"I know what that is," said Molly Weasley triumphantly. "Arthur had a Muggle coin collection. It's…a fifty pins."

"Pence," corrected Hermione. "It's a fifty pence piece - standard currency if you're a Muggle. Professor Snape was right," she said flatly. "Harry found him and sent him home to Hogwarts."

Bill's eyes slid across to Fred and George. Harry hadn't thought that a hallucinating Snape had registered his identity. They would have to let Harry know that the Order knew. The twins gave miniscule nods. This changed things quite a bit.

"We have to find Harry," Hermione burbled anxiously. "If You-know-who is back, he'll be able to find Harry through his scar."

"We're sure that he's not one of Snape's old crowd?" asked Ron hesitantly and found himself on the receiving end of a slap from his mother.

"Ronald Weasley, how dare you suggest such a thing about Harry," she cried angrily. "You-know-who killed his parents. He would never join him."

"The Harry I thought I knew would never have walked out on us," stated Ron, hurt lacing his voice.

"I'm sure he had his reasons," Dumbledore said quietly. "I wish he had talked to us..."

"And you wouldn't happen to know what those reasons were, Professor?" asked Bill pointedly. "Would you have _really_ listened?"The whole room stared at him.

Dumbledore frowned, sensing some sort of intent in the casually phrased question. "Is there something you would like to know, Mr. Weasley?" he asked. "You don't seem to be surprised by any of this."

Bill met the headmaster's gaze straight on. There was no point lying to Dumbledore but that didn't mean to say that Bill would tell him anything either. "I'm not surprised. Oh, I don't know the specifics but I have contacts through Gringotts which indicated that the Dark Lord might be planning a return and, no, I cannot tell you who they are. It's more than my job and possibly my life is worth. But it seems to me, you know more about Harry than the poor kid did himself."

"Bill," Fleur murmured softly, laying her hand on her husband's arm. "Leave it."

He looked down at her silvery head and smiled. "I'm sorry, Cherie, but far too much pressure was placed upon a boy. If I'd been Harry, I would have gone long before he did."

"If V…Voldemort is back," said Tonks, "then it's more important than ever that we find Harry. If it's true what everyone suspects and Harry's the only one that can kill him, we have to find him before the Death Eaters do." She looked at Kingsley. "Can we do it without alerting the Ministry? It's still chock-full of You-know-who's supporters."

"I don't think Harry was very well when he left us," said Hermione in a small voice. "He looked really white all the time and he had these debilitating headaches."

"But he often had headaches," interrupted Ron. "You-know-who made his scar ache all the time. It got really red sometimes."

"No, Ron," said Hermione softly. "Something was wrong."

Ron blinked. "You could be right, Hermione. He was acting kinda funny – really secretive. But then that could have been because he was going to run away."

"At least we know that the boy is still alive," said Hestia Jones, a black-haired, rosy-faced witch who worked at the Ministry.

"That is a blessing," said Minerva.

"Could I have a word with Severus?" asked Moody. "See if he can tell me anything about where he was found. That's if he's in any shape to talk?"

"He's on the mend but it will be a slow process," admitted Dumbledore. "Severus hadn't much of an idea where he ended up. He recalled being chased through trees and he suspects it was somewhere in the north of England or somewhere in Scotland."

"Well, that narrows it down," muttered Ron.

Hermione glared at him. "It's better than nothing," she whispered.

"Could Severus have been mistaken?" asked Remus, knowing the answer but wanting to ask one more time.

"He could have but I am convinced that he is not," said Dumbledore. "Remember, Harry always thought of others before himself."

"His saving people thing," murmured Hermione to Ron.

Dumbledore picked up his quill again and made some notes on a parchment in front of him before saying, "Alastor…borrow my Pensieve. I have a small one for portability. Perhaps you and Severus could examine his memories for clues. You may see something that I did not."

Kingsley looked at his watch. "If Snape thinks that he saw Harry Potter then he probably did see Harry Potter. Whether it was real or a figment of his imagination we shall have to decide."

"You've lost me, Kingsley," said Tonks, looking confused.

"Whether Snape _really_ saw Harry is open to debate," the dark-skinned Auror said. "In his mind, his rescuer was Harry. We have to determine what really happened."

Dumbledore leaned forward across his desk interrupting the two Aurors. "I have spent some time considering this. Severus was in no shape or form to be able to portkey himself back to Hogwarts. He was given help. I have to hope that it was indeed Harry. Without Harry, we have no hope."

The aged wizard's words silenced the room until there was an urgent knock at the door.

"Come in, Hagrid."

The half-giant stared at the crush of wizards in the headmaster's office. "I'll mebbe just stand here, if that's aw'right, Professor Dumbledore. But this couldn't wait." Hagrid stood wringing his hands."

"What is wrong, Hagrid?" Dumbledore said soothingly. Hagrid's eyes were wild and a little red.

"It's Hedwig," he stammered. "She's gone."

"What!" exclaimed Minerva. "But that's...Harry's owl."

"Yes." He fished a grubby, crumpled handkerchief from the pocket of his moleskin coat. "Harry sent her to me before he…left. But she's been anxious and frettin' for about a week now and two days ago, all of a sudden she just flew off."

"Perhaps she's just gone hunting," said Molly.

Hagrid shook his head. "Mebbe she has but she's a creature o' habit and always came home. I've been searching all over for her and there's no sign."

"She's been restless since Halloween?" said Minerva with a look at the headmaster. Everything had happened on All Hallows Eve.

Dumbledore frowned and looked at one of the instruments on his desk. It hadn't moved to his knowledge since Harry's magic had gone and the boy had disappeared. It was chugging slowly round in a circle; in fact, it was doing more than that. It was spinning faster and faster. "Harry!" he whispered. "Hedwig sensed her master. She's gone to Harry." He cleared his throat and raised his voice. "There was a tracking charm on the bird?"

"No," admitted Hagrid apologetically. "She didn't like it. I had to take it off. The charm didn't agree with her. She's a right clever bird."

"Professor, what is that?" asked Hermione, pointing at the instrument.

All the eyes focused on the little spinning object.

"This?" He smiled sadly. "I used it to monitor Harry's safety when he lived at Privet Drive. When Harry...left us, it stopped working."

"It can tell us where he is?" asked Remus, hope shining in his hazel eyes.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed. "No. But it proves that he's definitely alive."

Hermione looked at Ron wondering why the gizmo hadn't been working before. Harry had, in effect left the wizarding world every summer. But it didn't look as if the headmaster was going to tell them.

Bill stood up. "I really need to go but let me know what you want me to do. I'll see what I can learn from my contact without compromising his position. But before we go I want to tell you all some better news." He looked at Fleur and raised an eyebrow.

"Oui," she said, standing up.

He grinned and put his arm around her. "Fleur and I are going to have a little word with Madam Pomfrey. I was going to tell the family our news two nights ago but I was unexpectedly called into work."

"Tell us what?" Molly asked, her voice shaking. But she'd guessed.

Bill chuckled. "Albus, are you taking names for places at Hogwarts in roughly eleven or twelve years time?"

Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle. "Are you telling me that there will be another Weasley present?"

"I am." Bill pulled a prettily blushing Fleur closer and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "Everything's going well but we'd like to have a word with Poppy."

Molly gasped and threw herself at her son and Fleur, tears in her eyes. "I'll have to start knitting. Your father would be so proud. Go…" she urged. "Go and see Poppy and come for dinner tomorrow."

Bill chuckled and with a last glance around the room and a nod to Fred and George, the parents-to-be left.

"Even in our darkest hour we have real magic happening," said Kingsley, his dark face wreathed in smiles.

Hermione grinned. "Uncle Ron."

"Hey," Ron drew himself up. "That's right. I'll be able to teach him Quidditch and chess."

"You could even do that if it's a girl," said Hermione. "It might be a girl. There's fifty percent chance of that happening."

"The Weasleys tend to run to boys apart from…Ginny," said Molly, her happy tears turning to misery. "I miss my little girl, Albus. It's good to hear that Harry's alive even if we don't know where he is but what about my daughter? What about Ginny?"

"Molly…" Dumbledore couldn't say anything to make the woman feel better. He hadn't been able to protect and help her daughter. He hadn't really tried, if he'd been honest. There hadn't been anything he could have done. The Malfoys' contract had been expertly drawn up.

"She told me she was going away - that she couldn't marry Draco Malfoy."

"I thought you didn't remember," said Fred.

Molly gave him a look. "Of course I remembered. But I wasn't telling the Aurors that, was I? She didn't even want me to say anything to Harry because she thought he would go after her and she didn't want him to get into trouble on her behalf. But she said she would only be gone for a short time and it's been five years. I have to hope that if Harry's alive and well, Ginny is too."

Tonks moved towards Molly and wrapped her arms around her. "Ssh!" she soothed. "We'll find her for you. Maybe she's with Harry and they've been keeping one another safe all this time."

"Do you think so?" asked Molly.

"Yes," said Tonks. "Harry loved her. He wouldn't have abandoned her to Malfoy."

Minerva drew her wand and conjured up a large pot of tea and several cups. "Here, Molly," she said kindly, handing her a cup. "This will make you feel better."

"Thank you, Minerva."

The deputy headmistress began doling out tea and with a few flicks of his wrist, Albus produced sandwiches and cakes. "The house elves prepared these for us. Help yourself."

Hermione gave a sigh of relief as she helped herself to a pumpkin pasty. "I didn't have time to get anything before I left the Ministry."

Dumbledore nodded genially at her and then turned his attention to the tall, dark-skinned Auror. "Kingsley?"

"I'll go and set up a meeting with Rufus and probably Amelia Bones - if that's alright with you, Albus?" He grabbed a few sandwiches. "My duty shift starts in an hour and I won't have time to eat."

"Take some extra sandwiches. Amelia will listen to you and Rufus should too. He's far more sensible than Cornelius ever was although once he has set his mind on something he can be just as obdurate." Dumbledore looked at Alastor Moody.

"I'll go and have that chat with Severus now," said Moody. "If Poppy's dealing with Fleur and Bill, she'll leave us in peace."

"Take it easy on him, Alastor. He's not anywhere near recovery. He's not even complaining about being in the hospital wing. Or perhaps, not complaining over much."

The grizzled ex-Auror nodded. "I don't like the man much but even I admit that he's been through a lot for us, Albus," he said and stomped out of the room.

Albus turned his twinkling blue eyes in another direction. "Remus…"

"The werewolves again?" murmured the last of the Marauders with weary fatalism. "It didn't work before."

"Sound them out for me, Remus. I can have Severus brewing Wolfsbane on a bigger scale if necessary. But deliver your message and return; I can't spare you for long."

"I'll contact Olympe," put in Hagrid, "and speak to Grawpy about the giants. "Olympe and Grawpy will want to help. I know they will. Grawp knows the Gurg." The Gurg was the leader of the giants.

"Thank you, Hagrid." Albus looked towards Fawkes who sang a soft note. "I suspect that Hedwig has set out to find her master. Don't worry about Hedwig."

"She's a smart bird," said the half-giant with a proud smile, his beetle-black eyes shining at the thought of Harry and his faithful Hedwig reuniting. "One of the smartest owls I ever come across. She'll find him. I only wish that I thought to leave a note to Harry tied to her leg."

"Molly, I suggest you get the wards on the Burrow checked properly," suggested Minerva. "In fact..." She glanced round at the remaining witches and wizards. "That goes for all of you. Hermione…your parents?"

"Still in Australia," said the bushy-haired girl thankfully. "They like the lifestyle out there. They have their memories back but are continuing to live as the Wilkins. I miss them but it's safer this way."

"I agree." Minerva's face softened. Hermione had always been a favourite of hers.

"What about the Ministry?" wondered Fred. "I know Tonks and Kingsley can check out the Aurors. Hermione, I know it's tricky for you because Percy thinks that you're chatting daily to Harry and Ginny and is watching you carefully just in case you slip up. He'd do anything to get back at the Order."

"Percy's not a Death Eater," Fred. "Being one would mean that he has to break some rules and use a few Unforgiveables."

"No, he just consorts with them, the prat," sneered George. "But you might be able to see how he interacts with any of our marked families."

"I could," Hermione agreed. "He is watching what I do very closely and he asks a lot of questions, most of which I don't answer."

"We'll set our genius minds to inventing things for the war effort," stated Fred modestly. "Can I borrow your mobile phone?" he asked suddenly. "You'll get it back."

Hermione levelled upon them a warning glare worthy of their mother. "I'd better."

"Although it may not be in full working order..."

Hermione dug into her bag and produced the sleek object. "I was thinking of getting a new one but that doesn't give you license to destroy it," she warned, her eyes narrowing.

"We'll be really careful," they chorused together.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sure you will." She frowned. "What exactly do you want it for?"

"Oh…this and that," said George with a wink. "This and that."

_**xxxxx**_

Bill quickly ushered Fleur down the stairs. "Hurry," he murmured.

"Bill…"

"Not here." He jerked his head to where several occupants of one of the portraits were observing them with great interest. "Walls have ears," he explained.

"Is this to do with the baby?"

"Of course it is. We're going to tell _Poppy_ all about it."

"Oh!" Fleur's lips twitched knowingly as she let herself be rushed through the school and up the stairs to the infirmary.

"Poppy!" Bill called loudly. "Poppy!"

The mediwitch came bustling out of her office, starched petticoats rustling. "Really, Mr. Weasley, do you have to be so noisy?" she asked indignantly. "I do have student patients here, you know."

"How is Professor Snape?" asked Fleur quietly. "The headmaster told us."

"Recovering," she said looking towards the screened off area in the corner. "He'll be alright."

"You wouldn't have a galleon to lend me?" Bill asked casually.

"A galleon!" Poppy echoed, looking confused.

"A friend of mine," he said softly. "In fact, a relative by marriage…" His gaze caught the mediwitch's. "My friend would like to see that galleon tonight."

Fleur gave a little gasp. Bill had divulged some snippets of information about his previous night's encounters with Harry and Ginny but he hadn't told her about the marriage. "They are married, Bill? But..."

Poppy's eyes widened and she glanced around her hurriedly to see if anyone was within earshot. "Come into my office," she instructed and swiftly proceeded to put up several privacy charms as they did so.

"We've seen Harry and he wants you to go and see him. He's prepared for you to activate your portkey as soon as you're ready. He'll allow the wards to let you through."

"He's alright, Ginny and…" Poppy stopped. "You _really_ saw Harry and Ginny?"

"Yes."

"And they were well?"

Bill's eyes narrowed. Poppy was behaving a little strangely. "Yes, they were well. I was called into work unexpectedly and found that the job was to ward his property. He's apparently been in constant contact with the goblins."

"Oh, good. Goblins' wards are amongst the most difficult to break." Poppy breathed a sigh of relief. "Did you want to see Severus?"

Bill shook his head. "Not today. I suspect others will want to quiz him."

"I heard there was a meeting." Poppy pulled her mediwitch's bag from a cupboard and began packing it with potion vials.

"You-know-who is back, Poppy," Fleur said a little tearfully. "And this man is making me a mother. I shall be fat and..."

"You didn't complain at the time," said Bill in astonishment.

"No, because you are like a Frenchman in bed, Bill Weasley," she said slyly, the tears gone in an instant.

Poppy blinked, looking stunned. "Well," she said, even if Fleur had given her more information than she'd ever wanted to learn about the eldest Weasley. "Congratulations on the impending birth." She chuckled. Bill's face almost matched his hair and Fleur was looking more than satisfied with the effects her words had produced.

Bill shook his head, the fang earring dancing against the lobe. Oh, his wife was good. "You will be beautiful," he said, his voice husky with emotion. "Very beautiful, ma belle."

"Do you need me to check you over?" Poppy looked at Fleur's bright eyes, fresh complexion and shining hair and whipped out her wand.

"Non," replied Fleur. "I feel a little sick in the mornings and sometimes in the afternoons but otherwise…very good. Bill needed to tell you about Harry. That is why we are here."

"It's difficult to get away during term time," Poppy admitted, especially with Snape being indisposed. "Did Harry say what it was about?" How much did Bill know about Harry's situation?

"I think he wants you to check his magic."

"He told you...?" Poppy asked warily.

Bill nodded. "He said that he was hexed by You-know-who at the last Hogsmeade fight and how you were there for him when he needed you. How he lost his magic." The last was said in a whisper. Bill couldn't imagine many things worse than that.

Poppy's smile was grim. "By some chance of fate, I'd been reviewing obscure dark hexes from a book in the library at Grimmauld Place only days before. I was able to stabilise his core but I couldn't undo what had been done. Only the headmaster and probably Minerva are aware of what happened to Harry."

"It should stay that way," said Fleur. "Harry cannot be seen to be vulnerable. He has too many enemies."

"He did say it was urgent," Bill said. "It was Harry that found Snape."

"And Harry's linked to…" Poppy stopped and looked at the couple before her. She really had no choice where Harry was concerned and she wouldn't have it any other way."I'll go after I've done my rounds. As I said, I cannot leave the infirmary for any length of time during term. It will have to be a flying visit."

"Good. I think that's all he needs but it's for his own safety," murmured Bill. "He said that he owes you a lot."

Poppy grabbed another vial of what looked like Pepper-up and threw it into her bag. "Can you let Harry know that I'll be there as soon as I can?"

Bill looked at his watch. "Yes. I have to contact him in half an hour. We've set up a regular time."

The Weasleys left and Poppy began her preparation for the early evening round. There were a couple of children she'd dosed with Pepper-up earlier on that day and they were allowed to go to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Be back here first thing tomorrow morning after breakfast for a follow-up dose," she instructed.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," they chorused and disappeared as quickly as they could.

"Poppy!"

"Goodness, I'm popular today," she said dryly as Alastor Moody made his way into the infirmary.

"I wondered if I could have a word with Severus?" he asked. "Dumbledore seemed to think that he might be up to a chat."

"A chat only, Alastor," she warned. "Not an interrogation. He's not well enough for that."

"He's on the mend though?"

"Oh yes," she said. "He'll live."

"Well, then."

Poppy unlocked a cupboard on the wall and pulled out several vials of different coloured potions. Beckoning to Moody to follow her, she led the way to a far corner of the infirmary and pushed aside the screens. "Severus," she called quietly. "You have a visitor."

The Potions Professor opened his eyes and Moody stifled his gasp. The man looked worse than he'd ever seen him. His sallow skin seemed to be paper thin and stretched over his cheekbones, making the hooked nose more pronounced than ever. His eyes had lost their malevolent glitter and had sunk dully into his skull.

"I hear that you're feeling better," he said gruffly.

"I'm alive," said Snape coldly, his voice a thin rasp of sound rattling from his chest.

Poppy fussed around him, putting pillows behind his thin shoulders. "Drink," she said, pointing to the potions she wanted him to take.

"Do you want something to eat, Alastor?" she asked, conjuring a chair beside Snape's bed. "Severus must take some of these potions with food. You can make sure that he eats properly and I'll go to the Great Hall for dinner."

"Off you go, Poppy. Didn't Weasley and that French wife of his come visiting?"

"They did and it's wonderful news about the baby."

Snape groaned. "That family breeds faster than rabbits. In time, this school will be overrun by red- haired dunderheads."

"Severus," Poppy said admonishingly, hiding a smile. "This will be a first grandchild for Molly…" Poppy paused. Well, it was the first one that Molly would know about. "You must be on the mend," she said. "Your tongue's regaining its usual bite."

"Why Poppy, I didn't know you cared," snapped Severus. He felt very much out of his depth, stuck in bed without his usual black teaching garb to hide behind.

Poppy shook her head at him and whisked away to deal with his evening meal. Five minutes later, the two wizards were conversing desultorily over the house-elves offering.

"Pumpkin juice only, Severus," she said, switching goblets and smiled as he scowled. "But a nice try."

She decided to eat her own meal in her office before making an appearance in the Great Hall. Dumbledore was eating with the remaining members of the Order in his office. If she was going to go to Harry's it had to be now and it had to be quick. Walking to a deserted corridor without portraits, Poppy reached into her pocket and whispered. "Gillyweed."

_**xxxxx**_

Harry shut down the mirror and sighed as he replaced it in the drawer. "It never gets any easier," he muttered.

"What's wrong?" Ginny was playing with Jamie in the family room as Harry wandered through on his way to the kitchen. "You're not speaking to yourself again?"

"It's when I start answering my own questions that you should get worried, Ginny-love. Poppy should be arriving very soon," he said. "Dumbledore called an Order meeting tonight and informed them of the return of Tom and my alive-and-kicking status."

"They know?" Ginny appeared at the kitchen door, a sleepy Jamie perched on her hip.

"Snape wasn't as out of it as I thought he was. At first he thought that I was my father leading him into the afterlife." He grinned. "Now there's a pleasant thought. I can't see Snape just going with him. He'd be sniping insults all the way."

"That would be right." Ginny chuckled. "When did he realise that you weren't just a vision of loveliness?"

"Aw thanks, sweetheart. I'm glad you care." Harry grabbed the ingredients for tea and started chopping the onions.

"You could do that with magic, you know," she said.

"Too easy. I like to cook and part of me thinks that they will find us if I do too much. I know the Fidelius should shield us to an extent but we have powerful people searching for us on both sides."

"Chop away then," Ginny said. "But seriously, Harry, when did Snape decide you were Potter junior?"

"I called him 'Professor' and my eyes are green. My father's eyes were brown." He looked at her. "I wasn't going into work, so I was Harry not Gary."

Ginny's lips flickered into a brief smile before fading away. "You know what this means…"

Harry looked up and blinked. "Yes…uh…Ginny."

"What?"

"There's an owl at our window."

"What!"

"There's an owl at our window. A white…owl. Hedwig," he breathed, the expression on his face completely full of wonder. The knife clattered onto the chopping board. "Ginny, it's Hedwig."

Her brown eyes widened as her husband dashed out the back door and returned with the bird on his arm. Jamie's eyes were like saucers. He'd never seen an owl before and nothing like the one that was hooting softly into his father's ear.

"Birdy," he said.

"Yes," said Ginny, tears in her eyes at the awestruck expression on Harry's face. She knew that he'd desperately missed his owl. Hedwig had been his first true friend in the wizarding world.

"She found me," he said, tears shimmering in his green eyes.

"Jamie, this is Hedwig." Ginny brought the fascinated child close to the bird.

"Birdy," he said again. "Daddy's birdy."

Harry smiled happily. "You got it, son."

Ginny quickly transfigured a stool into a perch for the owl and poured water into a dish as her husband could only sit and croon words into the bird's soft white feathers.

A sound like a soft chime rang through the house. "Someone has breached the wards but it's a welcome guest," Harry murmured.

"Poppy?"

"Probably."

"Okay, Jamie, you're going to meet your Auntie Poppy," Ginny said to her son, smoothing his hair to no effect with her fingers. "She's going to be very pleased to see you. You're a bit bigger than the last time she was here."

"Auntie Poppy," said Jamie looking extremely pleased with himself. "Big."

Harry placed Hedwig on the conjured perch where she took a drink of water and began to preen herself. "I'll go and meet her." He moved through the house and opened the front door.

"Harry!"

"Poppy!" Harry embraced the mediwitch. "Come inside. Everyone's waiting to see you."

"I can't stay long," Poppy muttered anxiously. "There's a budding outbreak of wizard's flu amongst the first year Hufflepuffs and I've got Severus in the infirmary…"

Harry ushered her into the house. "How is he?"

"He'll survive. I take it that it was you who found him?"

Harry nodded. "Luck or fate made me the wizard who, er...stood on him."

"You stood on him!" Poppy's mouth dropped open in horror.

"You didn't have to heal footprints on his torso?" asked Harry with a wicked gleam in his eye. "He was under an invisibility cloak. I didn't know he was there until I stood on the poor blighter." Harry looked a bit self-conscious.

Poppy shook her head at the boy and enfolded Ginny in her arms. "Where's this baby of yours?"

"Not a baby," said a voice clearly. "Big."

Poppy knelt before the little dark-haired child and looked up at Ginny in amusement. "Where did the Weasley genes go? He's a complete Potter if I ever saw one."

"Temperament," said Harry with a wink at his wife. "Actually, he has Ginny's smile and sometimes if you look at the curve of his face you can see her contribution there."

"Harry James Potter!" Ginny cried, affronted. "I'll give you 'contribution'. You try being pregnant next time."

Harry gave his wife a kiss. "I love you."

"I know you do. Jamie looked like you at birth and nothing has changed. His eyes weren't as green then - they were more a sort of cloudy blue. That didn't last long."

Poppy held out her arms to the toddler. "Are you going to give Auntie Poppy a kiss?"

Jamie looked at the woman and smiled. "Yes." He puckered up and bestowed on Poppy a sloppy kiss.

"You're honoured," Ginny said admiringly. "He wouldn't go near Caroline or Helen at the nursery yesterday."

"Muggle friends of Ginny's," Harry supplied.

"Currently all my friends are Muggles," Ginny retorted. "And they're lovely girls. I wish I could tell them who I really am but I know I can't."

"I'm used to children." Poppy checked the watch pinned to the front of her apron and sighed. "I'm sorry to be so hurried but…"

"You've got Snape in the infirmary and you don't trust him to try and leave." He grinned cheekily at her. "I would bet that he hates being confined to bed almost as much as I do."

Poppy humphed irritably. "Do none of my patients want to regain their health quickly?"

"I wouldn't be here without you, Poppy. Never think that I don't appreciate what you've done for me," Harry declared. "I want you to test my magic, please." He grinned excitedly. "I think it's back at full strength and um...Ginny's pregnant again."

"Again!" Poppy's eyebrows went up to her hairline.

Ginny drew herself up. "We didn't want Jamie to be an only child but I'm not going for my mother's record, thank you very much. This isn't an accident. Jamie's eighteen months old and will be two when the baby is born."

"She's decided that we're having another boy," Harry said with a contented look on his face. "We didn't know how much time we had before the war restarted and we refused to sit and wait while life passed us by. We've let our lives be run by Tom Riddle and his masked pals for far too long."

Poppy smiled "I'm glad you've finally spoken to your family, Ginny, and it's wonderful news about the new baby. Jamie will love having a brother...or a sister."

"Just Bill and the Twins," she said. "We're going for either my mother or Remus and Tonks next..."

"Ron and Hermione?" queried Poppy. "You really hurt them, you two. Ron is still bitter about it. You could be a Death Eater yourself for all he knows."

"I know we hurt them. If there had been any other way…" Harry ran his hand over Jamie's head. "The Malfoys are still out there. Percy will want his revenge no matter how petty. We made him look foolish." He lifted his head. "My family come first."

Poppy nodded. "Come on then, let's test your magic." She held out her wand and began to flick it in the complicated movements Harry remembered.

The tube appeared and Jamie oohed at the sight. The colours began to swirl faster and faster until they came together. They shifted and swirled, almost incandescent in their brightness. Ginny picked up Jamie and turned his head away as the colours became almost painful to look at.

"See!" shouted Jamie, swirling in Ginny's arms. "Want see."

Poppy let the tube vanish and there was silence in the kitchen. "I've never seen anything like that before," she said softly.

"It was bright, Harry. So bright," marvelled Ginny. She put Jamie down and he clung to his father's trouser leg.

"Is it back then?" he asked.

Poppy gave him an 'are you serious' look. "Yes, of course it's back, you silly boy. In fact the improvement is almost unbelievable. This shouldn't have happened, Harry - not this quickly. But then, you've never performed to the accepted levels."

"He's not like other wizards, is our Boy-who-lived-to-defeat-all the-odds."

"Ginnyyyy!" mumbled Harry blushing, ducking his face.

"Right, Mrs Potter, let's check on you." Poppy was wielding her wand around Ginny's abdomen. "You are pregnant, right enough, Ginny." She smiled at the young couple. "June, I would think."

"I knew I was pregnant. I just wanted you to confirm it," Ginny said with a wry smile. "Some witches take forever to get pregnant. Maybe I do take after my mother."

"In all the ways that count," said Poppy. "Molly loves all her children the same whether she'd had one or twenty and she misses you."

Ginny looked down. "I know, Poppy," she whispered. "I miss her more than I can say."

"Mum…mum…mum…" Jamie lifted his hand and a toy zoomed in from the other side of the room.

"Well, I never!" exclaimed Poppy.

"It's random," said Harry. "He does it one minute and then there's nothing for weeks."

"Yes, but to show accidental magic like that at his age – he's not yet two." Poppy laughed. "A true combination of Potter and Weasley."

"No one knows about him, Poppy?" Ginny asked apprehensively.

Poppy smiled reassuringly. "I never told a soul. You didn't tell Bill?"

"I wanted to but I couldn't. Not until Mum knows. It wouldn't be fair."

"Well I can give you some news about Bill. He's just announced to the Order that Fleur's pregnant. He would love to know that his child has a cousin."

Ginny and Harry shared a smile. "We'll tell him soon."

"I'd better get back, Harry. But I would start using your magic regularly just to stabilise it. We'd love you to visit."

"It will be soon, I promise." He shrugged lightly. "With Voldemort on the rise once more I'll have to come home. I have no choice."

They shared a slightly desperate hug before Poppy dug into her pocket for the galleon. "Hogwarts infirmary," she announced and was gone.

Jamie stared at the space where Poppy had once stood in complete bewilderment. The lady had been there a minute ago and now she was gone. "Auntie Poppy," he wailed suddenly.

"She'll be back soon," said Harry.

"There's the phone," muttered Ginny as she bent to comfort Jamie.

"I'll get it," said Harry. "It's probably one of those stupid marketing calls. We should really go on that list that stops people from ringing you."

He grabbed the handset. "Hello?"

"Gary, my boy."

"Excuse me?" Harry checked his watch but it wasn't yet the time that Bill had said he would call. Then his common sense reasserted itself and he recognised the voices. "Fred…George?"

"Our esteemed partner," said the voice rather loudly.

Harry had to admit to himself that he found it difficult to tell them apart when he was next to them. He had no hope on the other end of a telephone. "Mr. Weasley, I presume?" he said.

"Gred here, Gary, old chap. We borrowed Hermione's phone for experimentation and it works."

"You did ask her if you could use it, didn't you?"

"She gave it to us with her blessing," said Fred. "She may not be so happy when we return it but she did say that she was planning to get a new one."

"Where are you phoning from?" Harry asked

"Dad's shed at The Burrow. He did a lot more serious experimenting with Muggle technology than we thought and his notes are most illuminating." Fred's voice became more serious. "Our father was a brilliant man; he just never got the credit for it."

"I agree." Harry fought the lump in his throat as he thought about Arthur. He shook his head and then paused. "Are you sure that Hermione really let you use it? It doesn't sound like her."

Fred chuckled. "Oh ye of little faith. Of course she did. I think she has planned to purchase a new one. It could be useful in the war effort."

"It could if you could get it to work in a highly magical environment." Harry's mind pondered the possibilities for a moment. If anyone could get it to work Fred and George could. "Say hello to your sister." He passed the phone to Ginny.

"Boys?" Ginny said with trepidation. "I can't believe she actually let you borrow her phone."

"She did. "George had taken over the phone from Fred. "We can see why ours didn't work very well. Did you know that we tried to make one once."

"Oh." Ginny could well believe it. "What's this about Bill and Fleur?"

"We are to be uncles," said George with satisfaction. Ginny wanted to shout that they were already uncles.

"Tell them 'congratulations'. It's a wonderful feeling."

"What did you say?" Fred exclaimed.

Ginny froze. "I said that I'm sure it must be a wonderful feeling."

"They're delighted. The mission to repopulate the world with Weasleys has begun," said George.

"Harry and I would like you to bring Mum here at the weekend. We've discussed it." She caught Harry's eye and he gave her a supportive thumbs-up.

"Did Harry see Poppy?" asked George. "According to Bill, he and Fleur spoke to her."

Ginny's smile lit up her whole face but, of course, George couldn't see that. "He did," she said.

"Everything's good?"

"Better than good. His magic's in good shape."

"I'll speak to the boys about Mum," said George. "It would make her so happy and would calm down the baby knitting frenzy she's embarked upon."

"Thanks. Saturday morning would be perfect." Ginny put down the handset and looked towards Harry. "It's time to announce our return to friends and family."

"That's what we're doing, Ginny-love, however we need to find out what the enemy is up to first."

"Mum will tell us."

"She's loyal to Dumbledore," said Harry mulishly. "And she thinks that we're children."

"Not now. We're of age, we're married and we have Jamie. She'll want to protect Jamie. I think that will make her tell us anything she knows." She looked up at her husband. "Dumbledore's not truly the enemy, Harry. I know he didn't treat either of us right but we're fighting Voldemort not one another."

"I know, sweetheart, but he still makes me feel so...angry." Harry enfolded her in his arms.

"Me too." Ginny leaned against him with a thankful little sigh. "We need to be seen to be back. Our enemies can't find us _here_. Maybe, we should rub their noses in it a little."

"And how do you suggest we do that, wife of mine?"

Ginny's smile was full of mischief. "Let me think on it."

_**xxxxxx**_

20


	26. Chapter 26

**The Unbreakable Vow 26**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

The voice on the other end of the telephone sounded apologetic. "I'm sorry, Helen. I can't make it today. I was hoping to come but..."

"It's okay, Jenny, I understand."

"Things are happening right now," the voice said. "I can't explain over the phone – it's just too...difficult. Family things."

"Family!" That was a new one. As far as Helen knew neither Jenny nor her husband had any. They'd never mentioned them.

"Yes." There was an awkward pause. "I'm sorry again and I'll be in touch – I promise. 'Bye."

"'Bye, Jenny." Helen Buchanan put down the phone and turned to her friend Caroline. "Jenny," she said by way of explanation, although she didn't really need to.

"Don't tell me," Caroline drawled slowly. "Something's come up and Jenny can't make it."

"Yes." Helen frowned.

Caroline pressed her lips together before saying quietly, "that's the third one she's missed since the incident."

The three women had met together almost every week since the birth of their children.

The furrow on Helen's brow deepened. "I suppose it is."

"I guess it's understandable," Caroline mused carefully. "She must have got a bit of a scare when those yobs were shooting fireworks at cars. I don't know if I would have got behind the wheel again. Maybe she should have seen somebody...got some counselling or something."

Helen switched the kettle on to boil and grabbed a couple of mugs from the cupboard. "She's been a bit funny ever since," she murmured slowly.

Caroline snorted. "I don't blame her."

"Me neither." Helen poured the tea and pushed the sugar bowl towards her friend. "But then, Jenny's always been ...a bit peculiar."

The blonde woman paused in the act of heaping a large spoon of sugar into her tea. "What do you mean?"

Helen searched in her mind for the right words. "Oh, she's lovely. So sweet and kind but...she's different and I've never worked out exactly what's different about her."

"You've got something there. It's almost as if she's not used to modern conveniences. She did say that she went to this very strict boarding school and hadn't even touched a computer until she went to college." Caroline gave her beverage a quick stir. "I've known Jenny for what...two, three years now and I don't think that I know her at all. For all that she's got a wicked sense of humour, she talks without saying anything."

"She's not the only one that does that," Helen said dismissively with a flick of her wrist. "Loads of people do it...politicians, for example. I never thought of it like that before but I agree with you. I don't feel that I know anything more about her than I did when I first met her. She's never mentioned her family – not even in passing. It's as if they never existed. She's never mentioned her parents or if she has brothers and sisters. My brother and I fought like the proverbial cat and dog growing up but I would never have cut him out of my life. Actually, we get on pretty well these days and I'm not saying that I think about my mother-in-law often but she's there whether I like it or not and she's very good about babysitting the kid." She held out her hands helplessly. "They're family."

Caroline grinned. "And Gary's such an ordinary bloke."

"He's never mentioned a family either." Helen visualised Jenny's thin-faced, anxious-looking husband and gave a fond smile. "What you see is what you get with Gary. He's a real sweetheart but I've never met such a worrier."

"True. I'm surprised he doesn't already have a stress ulcer." They all liked Gary. He was so devoted to his wife and son. "I swear that if Jenny's a minute late home he's on the phone wondering if she left on time and if everything is okay."

"And it is normally. It's rare that anything horrible like that happens up here. I still can't believe that people were actually setting fireworks off into the path of passing cars. If it was Glasgow or London..." Helen shrugged. "I would understand."

"I love him to bits and wouldn't change him for the world but I wish my husband was as considerate as Gary is. It seems to me that his whole life is Jenny and Jamie and that's wonderful for them." Caroline tipped her head to one side. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," Helen protested.

Caroline's eyebrows went up disbelievingly. "I know that look, Mrs Buchanan. Out with it."

"You'll laugh. This is really silly." Helen hesitated for a moment. "I swear this is going to sound daft but I'm convinced I saw one of Jamie's toys hover in the air."

Caroline gave a short bark of laughter. "You're kidding?"

Helen shook her head. "I told you you'd laugh."

"Hovering toys!" Caroline waved her hands in the air in surrender. "I give up. You're overtired. He probably just threw it. It's official. You are daft."

Helen shook her head. "I was making the tea and came back to ask what she wanted on her sandwich. The boys were playing and laughing and the teddy bear was spinning above Jamie's head. Jenny... lifted her hand and caught it."

"Did she see you?" Caroline asked curiously.

"No, I ducked back into the kitchen and rattled the crockery. She didn't see me."

"How did she look?"

Helen's mouth twisted. "Scared but not really surprised. She sort of gasped and her hand flew up to cover her mouth. I ducked back out of sight. It looked like...well...magic and we both know that only happens in fairy tales and Hollywood films."

"God bless Walt Disney." Caroline laughed and shook her head. "It will have been a trick of the light. You're tired. It's getting near end of term."

"You're probably right." Helen gave a rueful chuckle. "Either that or I need to cut down on the gin or get more sleep."

Caroline leaned forward. "Since when have you drunk gin?"

Helen glanced towards the drinks cabinet. "Ah..."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "Everything else I've seen you down but not gin."

They shared a conspiratorial grin as Helen confessed, "I must admit that I can't drink the way I used to back when we were students."

"Good grief! Who can?" Caroline took a large swig of tea. "I know that I can't. One millimetre over my allotted alcohol consumption and I'm no use to job, husband or children the following day."

"I like how you put the job first," joked Helen.

Caroline's eyes gleamed wickedly. "Of course I put the job first. How else could I afford to have the husband and children?"

The two women began laughing again, pushing the levitating toy firmly from their thoughts.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**The Ministry**

Percy Weasley was many things but he wasn't stupid. He'd been called a number of unflattering epithets by wizards of his acquaintance over the years but was so unshakably set in his very certainty that most of the names bounced off him. Prissy, pompous, self-important – he'd heard them all. He preferred to describe himself as professionally efficient - a perfectionist - someone hard working, capable and organised.

His career in the Ministry of Magic had been rather disappointing to date and the Department for Magical Transportation was rather stifling to one of Percy's political skills and ambitions. But he waited, watched and listened. There was still time for him to gain the position of power and influence and ultimately have affluence he craved. He would be what he deserved to be.

Percy tapped the feather end of his quill against his chin thoughtfully. Something important had happened very recently. In fact, it had probably happened within the last few days and they were now waiting for the effects to trickle through into the public consciousness. It had to have been something important to have significant members of the wizarding world jumping to attention and he needed to know exactly what it was. Knowledge was power, after all.

His first clue had been the sound of voices in the outer office. After Cornelius Fudge's fall from grace, Percy had been shifted sideways and down to his present post. However, that didn't mean that he'd been stripped of all his aspirations and he'd still been deemed important enough to have an assistant. Certain members of the Ministry were aware of how hard he worked. That his new assistant was his future sister-in-law was a bonus. Hermione Granger was close to Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore and was now, according to his sources, a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Oh yes, Percy knew all about Albus Dumbledore's little organisation. He'd made sure he knew as much as he could about the headmaster of Hogwarts and his little cabal. If they were hiding Harry Potter or knew the whereabouts of his sister he would have them in Azkaban faster than they could say 'Lumos'. The fight against He-who-could-not-be-named was incidental at this point. The rumour was that Harry Potter had sent the dark wizard packing for the second time not long before he himself disappeared.

The disappearance of You-know-who for the second time had left certain prominent wizarding individuals scrambling for safety. The Nott family sprang to mind, with several unexpectedly large donations to St. Mungos hospital. Whether Harry Potter was the reason for V...V... Voldemort's demise this time was moot. The dark wizard had ceased his operations and the wizarding populace breathed an uneasy sigh of relief.

Percy's hand tightened into a fist around his wand. He could barely think the name of the dark wizard, let alone say it aloud.

Dumbledore could say it. But then it was said that Dumbledore was the only wizard that You-know-who has ever feared.

He turned his thoughts to his assistant. Hermione currently worked in the outer office, screening his appointments, dealing with his correspondence and research into the latest developments in magical forms of transport. They had a cool, perhaps even a frosty professional relationship. He'd made the mistake at the beginning of their working life of assuming that the brightest witch of her age ever to come out of Hogwarts would understand his reasons for betrothing Ginny to the Malfoy family. He'd been wrong.

"I will not speak of this to you again," Hermione had declared stiffly. "In fact, I wouldn't have mentioned it at all if you hadn't brought up the subject in the first place. I don't agree with what you did, although I realise you were doing what you thought was best for your sister. But you didn't ask _her. _You didn't ask Ginny what _she_ wanted. She should have been able to make her own choices, Mr. Weasley. She's not stupid and certainly not a child any longer. She never wanted money or power and position. She's a true Weasley and wanted someone who loved her."

"Hermione..."

"It's your fault that she left and no, I don't know where she is...or Harry. We don't even know if they are together. For that, we can only hope because they'll be safer together. They didn't confide their plans to any of us. Trying to pump me for information will gain you nothing. I don't have any information to give you." She'd levelled him with a steely glare. "I don't know that I would share anything with you if I did know." She'd picked up her quill and bent her curly head over the report she was working on.

All Percy could say after that was, "leave the report on my desk when you are finished with it, Hermione."

"You're a fool," said Hermione scathingly without looking at him. "Harry would have died for Ginny. He would have done anything to keep her safe - anything. An alliance with the Malfoy family has placed her in more danger than she ever would have been in with Harry. Once you would have seen that and respected it. It was Lucius Malfoy who planted _V...V...Voldemort's_ diary on Ginny in her first year of Hogwarts. She nearly died then. If it hadn't been for Harry she would have."

Hermione couldn't say the name without stuttering over it but she could say it.

They'd never spoken of Ginny, Harry or the disastrous Malfoy betrothal since that day. However, yesterday Lucius Malfoy, accompanied by his wife and son, had strutted into the Ministry looking as if he owned it.

The Malfoy patriarch had actually been keeping a low profile since Ginny had disappeared. Percy had heard rumblings that it was because He-who-should-not-be-named had been destroyed and the Malfoys were rumoured to be strong supporters of the Dark Lord. He'd heard that the Aurors had been keeping a close eye on certain suspected families despite their claims of being subjected to the Imperious curse.

His father hadn't believed Lucius Malfoy's claims of innocence. Percy's mouth twitched. His father had been a fool who had got his himself killed. Percy swallowed hard. He missed his father – he'd been a decent man.

The red-haired wizard had decided that such an illustrious family probably did have skeletons in their closets – the Weasley's did have that cousin who was an accountant - but Lucius had always been an important financial donor to the Ministry. That was surely an indication that they wanted what was best for the wizarding world. Still, that swaggering, arrogant confidence had not been so apparent for some time.

Percy waited for the miniature portrait on his desk to announce the name of the visitor but no communication came. He sniffed with annoyance. Hermione wasn't paid to chat in the outer office to his afternoon appointments. Eventually he opened the connecting door to find the Auror, Nymphadora Tonks, speaking rapidly and quietly to his assistant.

Hermione gave Percy a wary glance at the young Auror and nodded. "I'll be there."

"As soon as you're finished," Tonks murmured. "We'll wait for you down in the atrium."

"Of course." Hermione again glanced sideways at Percy and then focused on the parchment in front of her.

"Auror Tonks..." Percy began stiffly.

"Percy," Tonks said abruptly and disappeared out into the corridor.

"What did she want?" he asked, bewildered at her abrupt departure. He was used to the visible dislike of Potter's associates by now.

"Oh, nothing..." Hermione said airily. "She just popped in for a chat. Tonks is a friend of _mine_, you know. We are still allowed to have them." She gave him a perceptive glance. "And before you remind me that I'm employed to work for the Ministry and not to chat..." She indicated a sandwich lying next to her. "I must remind you that it is still my lunch hour and I am working through it. I could visit the staff canteen instead but you wouldn't get the Bobbleton study done." She gave him a frosty smile and picked up the sandwich and took a large bite. "Mmm, lovely."

Percy scowled and retreated back into his office. Several hours later he noticed the time with surprise. It was almost time for Hermione to finish work and he wanted something verified on the viability of developing a better, more efficient strain of Floo powder. A report had been done on it at some point during the last year but he couldn't remember what conclusions had been reached. He had no doubt that Hermione would know. He took another glance his watch. It would keep until tomorrow but if he got the figures tonight it would save a lot of time.

He checked his diary for the following day. He had several meetings scheduled with important wizards. No, he decided, it would be better done today. Hermione wouldn't mind working late, so shouldn't be a problem. She never left early because he always had something vitally important for her to do. He bent his head towards the miniature portrait on his desk and spoke into it clearly. "Hermione, could you come through to my office, please? I'd like you to check on a couple of things before you go home."

Silence.

"Hermione?"

There was no answer.

Percy's brow furrowed and with a sigh he threw open the door. "Hermione..." The office was empty, the desk clear and Hermione's coat gone from the rack against the far wall. He glowered and checked his watch. It was three minutes past 5pm. She'd waited until the dot of five and left without informing him. Hermione Granger never left work when she was supposed to and certainly never without telling him that she leaving. She was, in Percy's opinion, as dedicated to her work as he was.

Moving to the corridor, he peered down into the main atrium and spotted her distinctive figure rushing towards a small group of waiting wizards. Even from this floor he noted the bubblegum pink hair of Tonks, a wizard in a sandy brown cloak and a tall, dark-skinned wizard that Percy thought was Kingsley Shacklebolt or Osgood Montgomery. If Tonks was present, then the wizard in the sandy brown cloak could possibly be the werewolf, Remus Lupin. These were all people close to Albus Dumbledore.

This was atypical behaviour from his hardworking assistant. He'd thought that of late she'd distanced herself from the Hogwarts headmaster but obviously he'd been wrong. She'd just not mentioned him in front of Percy. In fact, she rarely addressed anything to Percy unless it was work related.

She had returned to work the following morning on time as usual but with such an expression of strain visible on her pale face – her eyes red as if she'd been weeping - that he'd thought he was going to have to send her home. She'd been distracted all day and, during her lunch hour, he'd observed her pouring over thick tomes which she removed from sight as soon as she'd thought herself observed. Enquiries as to her well-being had been answered with a stiff, "I'm fine, Mr Weasley." Again, she'd departed on the dot of five leaving him glaring at the mounting pile of parchments rolled up together in her in-tray.

It all began to make even less sense when the unmistakable form of a grim-faced Albus Dumbledore was seen making his way towards Scrimgeour's office, followed five minutes later by a tense-looking Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Relations between the Hogwarts headmaster and the Minister for Magic had been cordial – if not exactly warm. Scrimgeour did not need or fear Dumbledore in the way that Fudge had. In fact, the headmaster had not been present at the Ministry since the last session of the Wizengamot. Percy was quite certain that the Minister – a former Auror - would and did disapprove of the existence of the Order of the Phoenix.

Percy wandered back to his empty outer office and glared at his assistant's empty chair. Hermione should not have left early. She knew they still had the report on Floo powder to complete. He gave a bitter laugh. Floo powder! Where was the thrill in reporting on that? Whatever had upset Hermione had also unsettled Dumbledore, Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour. Once, he would have been present at a meeting between Dumbledore and the Minister. For the first time in months, Percy ignored the work on his desk and decided to go home. He had much thinking to do.

Hermione, Tonks and Lupin were part of that tightly knit group of wizards that Harry Potter had called friends. Percy didn't have to be a genius to realise that the Order of the Phoenix was operating once again, placing his family right in the firing line.

Dumbledore was actively seeking out the Minister and the Minister was not turning him away. Added to the rising arrogance of certain wizards, it could only mean one thing. Percy knew he'd made mistakes with Crouch and Fudge. He hadn't wanted to hear the worst and he'd let himself be led around by the nose believing that the Ministry could do no wrong. He'd alienated himself from his family and ruined his career. Scrimgeour hadn't wanted to employ Percy anywhere near him after that. He was fortunate to be employed at all. He still believed that his family's ideals had helped prevent him from advancing in his career but they were his _family._

Something was wrong – incredibly wrong. He'd never put any faith in the art of Divination but he'd never felt his magic tingling like this before. Not even when His then girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater had been petrified by the Basilisk and Ginny had been dragged into the Chamber of Secrets and left to die. Not even the time when he'd stood in the Atrium behind a shocked Cornelius Fudge, mere feet away from the most powerful dark wizard in history.

This time there were no pleading speeches by Dumbledore in front of the Wizengamot or disbelief and derision in the press with Harry Potter to blame. Everything was proceeding as it normally did on a daily basis but something deep inside Percy told him that shouldn't be the case. Things didn't feel right any more. He could sense the change in the air – that horrible, dreading anticipation of catastrophe.

Harry Potter was reputed to be the chosen one, the child of prophecy and the one who would rid their world of the dark wizard. Percy managed a sigh of relief until he remembered that Harry Potter was gone and couldn't be found – he might even be dead. And if he were dead, the wizarding world was in serious trouble.

Could it be true – could it really be true? He swallowed nervously and finally gave words to his feeling of dread. It was more than likely that He-who-should-not-be-named was back but Percy still couldn't say his name. Harry Potter could say it. He'd always been able to say it. What else but the return of He-who-should-not-be-named would make Dumbledore seek a meeting with the Minister at this point in the school term?

Percy tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. This time there was no saviour of the wizarding world willing to rescue him and his family.

_**xxxxxxx**_

Bill and Fleur Weasley had returned to Shell Cottage after the fractious Order meeting and the visit to Poppy. There was little else they could do but talk over what they'd learned and try to make tentative plans for the coming months ahead. They had a baby on the way and a dark wizard to fight. It wasn't going to be easy.

Bill pulled the robe gently from Fleur's shoulders. "You're tired," he said as he watched her sink into the sofa.

Fleur let out a sigh. "Yes, I'm tired and I'm not even sure if it's because of le bébé. It's been a long day and things are going to get harder, not easier."

"I know," he whispered. "Are we doing the right thing having this baby?"

"I've asked myself that question so many times but if we wait we're letting 'him' win," she answered. "We've been married for nearly six years and we deserve to have a family. Le bébé is coming now whatever we think is right and I am glad."

"Then you must take care. The baby comes first." Bill looked worried. "You need to be protected."

"Mais, oui, but I am a capable witch. You do not mess with a pregnant half-Veela," Fleur gritted between her teeth.

"I know." Bill's mouth creased in a sudden smile at the fierce expression on his wife's beautiful face. "Although wasn't that the reason you got pregnant in the first place – the messing about thing?"

Fleur rolled her eyes and muttered something derogatory in French under her breath. "I may not like having to take it easy when my family is in danger but I will take care and not jump into any unnecessary wand fights."

"Thanks," Bill murmured, resting his head upon hers. "That's all I can ask."

Fleur let out a graceful yawn. "Bed, I think," she said. "Tomorrow we visit Harry?"

"Tomorrow we visit Harry," Bill echoed and pulled out his wand, waved it at the lights and whispered, "Nox."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

"What is the plan this morning?" Fleur asked prettily as they lingered over breakfast. "We go to The Burrow and collect your mother?"

"That's the idea."

She carefully buttered a croissant. "What about Ronald? Are we taking him and Hermione?"

Bill paused. "I had hoped to avoid Ron and Hermione but as it is Saturday..."

"But surely they would want to see Harry..." Fleur stopped as she took in the expression on her husband's face. "Harry does not want them to know?" she asked in surprise.

Bill let out a sigh. "Harry doesn't want _Dumbledore_ to know. At least, not until _he's_ ready to tell him. I think Harry blames the professor for many of the things that happened in his life."

"Dumbledore has made certain decisions for Harry over the years. It makes sense that Harry feels angry," Fleur agreed. "Even if it is not true and the headmaster was acting in Harry's best interests. Dumbledore loves Harry."

"The problem is that some of it is true," Bill said wearily. "In my opinion, Dumbledore has made major mistakes with the way he's treated Harry and the boy understandably resents some of the decisions made on his behalf." He lifted his blue eyes. "I also have problems with other things that the headmaster has done."

"Ginny." Fleur understood.

"It has not been easy for Dumbledore either," Bill admitted. "Merlin knows, I couldn't do it but he treated Harry like a...thing."

"But Dumbledore is not Ronald or Hermione," Fleur mused thoughtfully.

"No, he is not. But for some reason Harry links them firmly with the headmaster and doesn't quite trust them. I suspect that Harry sees them as being too dependent on someone he feels has let him down. I love them both but Ron cannot keep his mouth shut when he is angry and Hermione has an almost naive trust in authority figures."

"Well, she did," said Fleur slowly. "I'm not so certain that's true anymore."

"Bill!" a voice began shouting in the fireplace. "Bill!"

"Sounds like Fred...or George," Bill muttered.

Fleur got out of her chair. "Go and speak to them and I will finish up here."

Bill nipped into the study and returned five minutes later. "It was Fred," he said. "Apparently Hermione needed to go into work this morning for a couple of hours and Ron decided to go with her."

"So Molly is alone," Fleur said slowly.

"Come with me to the Burrow instead of going into the office," Bill urged roguishly. "It will save time and you can distract my mother with..."

"You want me to distract your mother, Bill? Why?" Fleur's narrowed blue gaze made the red-headed wizard uneasy. She wasn't the kind of witch he would ever want to cross but was the one he wanted forever by his side.

"I don't want Mum to guess ahead of time what I'm trying to do. She doesn't have a clue that we're taking her to see Harry and Ginny but I need to find the contract," he answered. "The one Percy and Lucius drew up for Ginny's marriage. I need the actual copy."

Fleur arched a perfect silvery eyebrow. "Pourquoi?"

"Harry and Ginny say that it's not legal. I thought I would take it to Gringotts and get the goblins to inspect it in detail. I am ashamed to say that I never examined the document myself. It should have been the first thing I did. Hell, I should have been there and it would have never happened."

Fleur crinkled her nose prettily in confusion. "But I was told that it was drawn up by the most accomplished law wizards the Ministry employs. How is it not legal?"

Bill tapped his finger against his chin. "There are a number of reasons but I suspect that the main one is that the pair of them managed to perform a blood bond with one another before Percy produced the document. That's what they think has happened."

"That would be a reason," Fleur said thoughtfully. "There are ways of checking to see if the magic of the contract took hold. Yes, you are correct. The goblins would know and possibly the house elves."

"I don't want to alert Mum or anyone else in the family apart from the twins that I'm investigating this," Bill said firmly. "I can't risk it getting out to anyone - especially Percy, the Malfoys and Dumbledore until we're certain of our facts. We need to be able to deal from a position of strength."

"I shall immediately go to Gringotts and talk quietly to Silverbreath. He is the expert in such things and has no love for the Ministry of Magic. If the goblins are helping Harry to hide then it is more than likely that the contract is...how would you say it - a dud?"

"As good a word as any." Bill smirked. Fleur's _Eenglish_ had improved rapidly since she'd moved permanently to Britain.

"Then I shall follow you to The Burrow and distract your mother. She will want to talk about her coming grandchild, non?" Fleur summoned her cloak and with a faint pop apparated to Diagon Alley.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

"Mum!" Bill Weasley called as he came through the fireplace. "Mum!"

"Bill?" Molly hurried down the stairs. "I wasn't expecting to see you this morning. I'm just changing beds and tidying up. Hermione decided that she needed to go into work for a couple of hours this morning and Ron decided to do the same."

He smiled. His mother was never happier when she had something in the house to do. "Will you be long?"

Molly shook her head. "No, why?"

"I thought we might go for a little trip to see some friends of mine. They've invited us for lunch. I'll let you finish what you're doing and then we can go."

"Friends?" Molly's plump face lit up at the thought of a surprise outing and she hurried back up the stairs. Bill could hear the whoosh of spells and the rumbling sounds of magical cleaning.

There was a rumble in the grate and Fleur gracefully stepped into the room. Bill's face lit up at the sight of his wife. "You are early," he said.

"I finished sooner than I thought," the blond witch said smugly. She gave a little shimmy and the soot accumulated during her travel fell from her cloak leaving it spotless. A quick Evanesco removed all traces from the carpet. "The goblins were very interested in what I had to say. I did not need to persuade them at all. Silverbreath and Griphook would like to speak to you as soon as you have something to show them. They wouldn't give me any information until then."

Bill dropped a kiss on his wife's smiling mouth. "Your powers of persuasion are legendary."

"Only for you, Mon cher," she whispered. "Only for you and I had to work harder for you than anything in my life."

"I wanted you to respect me in the morning. I didn't want to be thought of as easy," Bill murmured, his nose in the air.

"That's not a word I would use about you," his wife said dryly.

"I fell in love with _you_," he said. "I wanted the whole thing, not some hole in the corner affair. You've never been just a Veela to me. I fell in love with the inside as well as the outside."

Fleur's smile at that moment could have rivalled the sun.

Suddenly, his mother's footsteps were heard as she descended the stairs. "I thought I heard the Floo. Good morning, Fleur," she greeted her daughter-in-law with a smile. "That's the beds finished and the bathrooms clean."

"You have been busy?" Fleur kissed Molly's cheek in greeting.

"Just general house work. It's nice to have a bit of peace and quiet to get it all done. Merlin knows that Hermione, with all her cleverness, is more of a hindrance than a help." Molly moved towards the kettle, her wand already in her hand. "We have time for a cup of tea?"

Bill nodded. "I think so. Especially if there's cake to go with it."

"I was hoping that your mother could show me the knitting spell and perhaps talk about the baby." Fleur looked a little nervous, her accent thickening. "After all, Molly has had seven babies and this is my first."

Bill stifled a smile at the expression of happiness on his mother's face as she enfolded Fleur in her warm embrace. He'd not seen her like this since she'd lost his father and Ginny and Harry had disappeared. His darling wife didn't really want to learn the knitting spell but he'd asked for a favour and Fleur's distraction would give him a little undisturbed time. He could have just asked his mother to let him know where the marriage contract was but she would have wanted to know why he was looking for it. He wasn't ready to tell her that little tit-bit for at least another hour.

He grabbed his mug and a large chunk of fruitcake as the women huddled together to discuss Fleur's pregnancy and moved to the cramped room Arthur had used as a study. "Now," he muttered to himself. "I need to find this blasted contract."

"_Let me tell you a little fact about this so-called magical betrothal...__Ginny and I had already claimed one another and we felt the magic take hold." _

"_We made a blood oath," said Ginny simply._

"_We didn't use words," said Harry. "We didn't need to. Ginny and I belonged together. We'd only split up to protect her."_

The memory of Harry and Ginny's words rang in his head. If what his sister and new brother-in-law said was the truth, and he had no reason to believe that it wasn't, then Percy and Lucius Malfoy could never have forced Ginny into marriage with Draco. Her friends and family would have done that themselves not realising that the contract was void. Ginny would have married Malfoy because none of them truly believed there had been a way to prevent it.

They'd fallen into the trap – the family, the Order and Dumbledore. Bill chuckled darkly. But they weren't the only ones. Malfoy and Percy also believed in the contract. They thought it gave them power. The chuckle faded as he considered what could have happened to Ginny if the contract had been genuine. She would have been left powerless in a hostile environment and perhaps even her sanity and life would have been threatened.

"If she'd married Malfoy that would still have been the result," he muttered to himself. "Thank Merlin for Harry Potter."

Harry said that Ginny never touched the parchment. Therefore Hermione must have put it away in a safe place. There was only one place that could be deemed safe in The Burrow – his father's old desk. The twins certainly never used it to keep documents. They now had their own office and development room at their shop in Diagon Alley and a small flat above the premises.

Bill eyed the old desk where his parents had kept anything that was important to them. More than thirty years worth of Weasley Family documents were rolled up and crammed inside. He took a deep breath and reluctantly began the hunt with a feeling of prying into things that didn't belong to him. An hour later he had sorted through just about every piece of parchment stuffed inside its creaking innards. There was no sign of Ginny's marriage contract.

He exhaled wearily. Ginny might know where it was but if not, he was going to have to involve Hermione. Harry did not yet want Ron and Hermione to know his whereabouts because he couldn't trust them not to let something slip to Dumbledore. He could see problems ahead with that as Hermione wasn't known as the brightest witch of her age for nothing and they would eventually need her help as she worked for Percy. She was ideally placed to spy on their estranged brother and possibly the one to persuade him that Ginny and Harry should remain together.

He rolled up a piece of blank parchment and replaced it in the drawer where he'd found it. The other option would be asking at the Ministry. There would have been an official copy lodged there. If there was one thing he would trust Percy with, it was making certain that things were done in the proper manner. The Malfoys would have a copy, the Weasleys, and the Ministry.

"Bill!"

"Coming," he shouted. He would have no access to the Malfoy copy and would only go to the Ministry as a last resort. He hoped it didn't come to that.

Fleur raised her eyebrows enquiringly.

He shook his head feeling frustrated. "I think we should get going..." He picked up his cloak.

Molly turned to look at her eldest son. "I was just about to make some lunch."

"Don't bother. I told you that Fleur and I are going to take you out to meet our friends for lunch."

Molly's face brightened. Since Arthur died, she had been wary of going out alone. She missed him more than she could say but life went on and if the war was going to restart, she would need to be strong for her family and the Order. "But..."

Bill shook his head. "No arguments, Mum. We're going out. Think of it as a celebration of the arrival of the next generation of Weasleys."

Molly's smile brightened even more. "Lovely. I'll go and get my cloak."

Bill grinned. "Accio Mum's cloak."

"Where are we going?" Molly asked as she fastened her winter cloak around her shoulders.

"It's called Sheilhill Cottage," Bill replied.

Molly shook her head. "Never heard of it."

"You'll love it. It's a beautiful house in a gorgeous setting." Bill grinned at her. "I'll side-apparate Fleur there first and come back for you." He grinned at his wife. "Ready?"

"Oui." Fleur grabbed onto Bill's arm and with a pop they were gone.

Two minutes later he was back. "Okay?"

Molly smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been anywhere new. "This is exciting. Which friends are these, dear?"

"I didn't say. That's part of the surprise." Bill closed his eyes, visualised the Potter's house and, with another faint pop, disappeared from The Burrow's kitchen and arrived at the Sheilhill Cottage gates to find Fleur waiting patiently for them.

"Where exactly are we?" Fleur gazed around her as if she couldn't see the large metal gates to Harry's property.

"We're in front of their property."

"I don't see it," Fleur said, arching a silvery eyebrow.

Bill realised that she couldn't see the gates until he let her into the secret. "I'm sorry, Cherie. We're at the entrance to the property."

"I gathered that," Molly said dryly. "I just wondered where in the world you'd apparated us to – it's cold wherever it is."

"It's November; of course it's cold." Bill passed her a small piece of paper. "Read this, memorise it and then give it to Mum. This place is under a Fidelius."

Molly read the slip of paper before handing it back to Bill. "Oh my goodness – a Fidelius!" she exclaimed and then turned to look at her son in exasperation. "Who is Gary Peters?"

"The friend I was telling you about."

"I've never heard of him – it doesn't sound like a wizarding name. Why is he under a Fidelius?"

"He's an important client of the goblins," Bill admitted. "They want to protect him. This was the house I was sent to ward."

"But you don't usually help with the warding," Molly said.

"No," Bill agreed. "I don't but it's what I was asked to do. It's good experience."

Fleur slipped her hand into Bill's and gave Molly a gentle smile. "We should not lurk out here any longer. We are expected, yes?"

"We are," Bill murmured resolutely. He stepped up to the large metal gates and waited for them to swing open. "Come on."

Molly shivered as the gates clanged shut behind her. Ahead stretched a long tree-lined drive but she couldn't see the house. "Is it far?"

"No," said Bill. "Just a hundred yards or so. Once we turn that corner you'll see the house. It's well hidden."

Leaves skittered along the ground, dancing and tumbling as a gust of wind caught them unawares. This late in the year, the trees were losing their leaves quickly and many drifted down on the wind to lie under their feet. "They value their privacy," Molly declared. "I could sense the wards as we passed through them."

"If we had not been welcome we would not have been able to pass," stated Fleur matter-of-factly. "These are goblin wards at their finest."

"I was thinking of getting these for The Burrow," Bill offered carefully. "It would make Fleur and I much happier, Mum. The goblins would be willing to do it for us."

"If it would keep this family safe," Molly whispered, her eyes bright, "I would agree. We've lost enough."

Bill smiled with satisfaction. "I'll get onto it first thing on Monday."

They continued to walk up the lane. As they turned the corner, the trees opened up and Molly finally saw the house. In the late-morning sunshine, the greyish brown stonework sparkled, framing the reddish-brown window frames, making the dwelling look welcoming.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's lovely but it doesn't look like a typical wizarding house." She stared with fascination at the discreet satellite dish on the side of the roof. "I don't think I've ever looked at one of those saucer-shaped things properly before. What do they do again?" Molly gave a wistful sigh. "Your father would have known."

"A lot of Muggles have them on their houses, "Bill commented thoughtfully. "I'm not exactly sure why but I think it's something to do with those boxes they watch called television."

"It's bigger than I thought it would be," said Fleur. "I suppose it's the same size inside?"

"They haven't converted all of it into a dwelling yet," explained Bill. The house will eventually be in three sections. It forms three sides of a square, but the building on the right of the property – which was the barn - is still a barn. I think H...Gary is doing some of the work himself."

"To save galleons," murmured Molly approvingly.

"He's not short of galleons," Bill murmured with a smirk. "I think he just wants to do things himself."

"I can also understand that," said Molly with a wistful expression on her face. "Your father was like that, too."

Suddenly from the barn side of the house a tall gangly figure wearing a red knitted hat and a thick woollen jumper emerged pushing a wheelbarrow filled with rubble that he emptied into a large skip beside the garage. Bill laughed. "Sometimes he forgets he's not a Muggle."

"He's a Muggle?" Molly asked in surprise.

"No, he's a wizard but he moves quite comfortably between both worlds. He was Muggle-raised but his parents were magical." Bill raised his arm and gave a shout in greeting. "Hey!"

The figure placed the now empty barrow on the ground and straightened up. It was a thin-faced young man wearing round-rimmed spectacles that framed emerald-green eyes. "I wondered when you would arrive," he said. "We got tired waiting."

Molly's mouth dropped open in shock as he approached them. She knew that face.

The young man came closer, pulling off his hat to uncover messy black hair and revealing on his forehead a lightning bolt scar. "Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said simply as if it hadn't been over five years since they last met. "It's good to see you."

Molly's mouth dropped open. "Harry?" she whispered.

"Yes. It's me," he replied simply and opened his arms to the woman who had been the nearest thing to a mother he had known. "Do I get a hug?"

"Harry!" she exclaimed, her eyes tracing every inch of his face. "Harry!" She threw her arms around him, clasping him tightly against her heart. Her seventh son was alive and safe. "Oh, Harry," she said. And then with sudden savagery she turned on Bill. "All this time and you knew where he was," she shouted fiercely. "You kept this from us. How could you, Bill?" Tears ran down her face. "How could you? I was beginning to think that he was...dead." She stepped away from Harry and buried her face in her hands. "So many deaths."

"Mrs. Weasley," Harry said quietly, his hand on her arm. "Bill didn't know."

Molly lifted her tear-streaked face. "What?"

"I didn't know where Harry was, "Bill admitted. "I only found out last week."

"I requested Bill's presence when I asked the goblins to place this house under the Fidelius charm. The goblins have always known where I was – no one else did. It wasn't safe to tell anyone."

"The goblins!" Molly couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Harry nodded. "I trusted them to keep my whereabouts secret. They were the only ones who knew where I was. It was something that Sirius arranged for me before he died. He wanted me to have a safe haven away from the pressures of the wizarding world and my Boy-who-lived persona – somewhere I could just be 'Harry'. I didn't realise that I would be in hiding for over five years." He looked at the pretty blonde witch by Bill's side. "Fleur," he said warmly, "as gorgeous as ever. It's been a long time."

"Too long, Harry," the French witch said, embracing him. "But we are together again. Things are good."

"Things are about to change once more but being with family is always good," Harry said soberly.

"You should have told me the minute you found out, William Weasley. You've known about this for a whole week and you said nothing. Who else knows?" Molly demanded with a narrow-eyed look at her eldest son.

"The twins," Bill admitted. His arm tightened around his wife's shoulders. "Fleur actually guessed but this is the first time she's visited."

Fleur's smile was smug. "I am beautiful. I am not stupid."

"Harry James Potter..." Molly began, her finger pointed at the dark haired wizard.

"Guilty." Harry held up his hands to forestall the scolding. He could still remember the Howler she'd sent to Ron in their second year. "But save your wrath for later. I have someone else for you to meet."

Bill glanced down at Fleur, who looped her arm in her husband's. "I did say 'friends', Mum."

"He doesn't stay here by himself?" Molly asked. "You share the house with someone? Harry, dear, is that wise? Suppose it was a Death Eater or a werewolf or worse. How well do you know them? Harry Potter, explain yourself this minute."

Harry stifled his grin and began walking towards the side of the house. Molly Weasley hadn't changed at all. "This way," he murmured. "All will be explained."

Bill, Fleur and Molly followed him, gazing around them as they did so.

"This house was selected mainly for its isolation as well as its beautiful location," Harry stated calmly, although inside his heart was thumping. What would she think?

"How long have you lived here?" asked Molly curiously.

"About four years," answered Harry. "We moved here just after we got married." Harry kept walking waiting for the next explosion he knew would come from Molly.

"_We_...What!"

Harry turned around and held up his left hand. The gold ring glinted on his wedding finger. "I got married four years ago," he explained. "Would you like to meet my wife? We're very happy."

"Wife!" Molly screeched. "You're far too young to be married..."

"I know for a fact, Molly Weasley," Harry remonstrated gently, "that you were married straight out of Hogwarts and by the time you were my age, Bill and Charlie were running around at your feet and Percy was on the way." He tapped his temple. "I can count."

Molly huffed. "That was then. Things are different now."

"Are you certain that things were different?" Harry asked calmly. "I'm not so sure that they were."

"Of course they were different. There was a war on," Molly snapped. "We could have been killed at any moment and had to take the chance to live our lives. I lost my brothers and...Oh!" She clapped her hand to her mouth, her eyes full of pain.

Harry nodded. "Things aren't so different after all. There is still a war on – it never stopped. Last time I lost my parents and this time I lost Sirius. You lost Arthur and in a way you lost Percy."

"I lost you," Molly whispered. "I lost you and..."

"But you have me back," Harry returned whimsically before she could continue. "You have me and now you'll have my wife to love and spoil, too. We want to be able to live our lives, too."

"Does she know that you're a wizard, Harry?" Molly asked. "Is she aware of the danger you are in?"

"She knows," he said. "She doesn't like it but she knew what she was taking on when she agreed to marry me. She's wonderful." His mouth curved into a smile. "I love her and I'm glad she knows everything. I wouldn't have had it any other way."

"I'm glad you are happy, Harry and I promise that I'll love your wife whoever she is but..." Molly's eyes glittered with tears, "all I really want is to know where my daughter is." Ginny had been in love with Harry before she disappeared. It would break her heart to know that he'd married someone else.

"And you think _I_ know where she is?" Harry raised one dark eyebrow.

Molly sighed and produced a handkerchief from somewhere. "I'd hoped you were together," she said. "In my heart, I hoped that you were the one to save her from that marriage but Ginny didn't want me to tell you that she was leaving. She couldn't stay and be forced into marriage with that Death Eater but didn't want you to be blamed for helping her get away. Ginny loved you. She knew they would blame you and they did, didn't they?"

Harry's mouth twisted into an odd sort of smile. "That's my Ginny," he said. "Yes, they suspected me but they had no proof. I was questioned several times by Aurors and P..." He glanced at Bill before continuing on. "Percy wanted to drag me into the Ministry for questioning. I didn't want to do that. But why would I have remained in the wizarding world without her, eh?" He turned and began walking quickly. "Come on."

"Your Ginny!" Molly hurried after Harry. "What do you mean, 'your Ginny'?"

"She's always been mine and always will be," Harry said reverently. "She was targeted partly because of me and I couldn't let anything happen to her. There was no way that I would let her be tied to Draco Malfoy. Of course, I was going to help her." He stopped and gestured forwards. "Mrs. Weasley, I'd like you to meet my wife - my heart and my lifeblood. I'd die without her."

Bill gave Fleur a fond smile. He'd never heard it expressed in quite that fashion before but he understood what Harry meant and it explained the comment Harry had made to him when he'd given Bill the vial of blood for the warding.

Sheilhill cottage was surrounded by trees on three sides and on the fourth by the gentle rising slopes of Ben Llachie. The hill rose gracefully upwards, sheltering and protecting the property from prospective foes and the worst of the elements. There was a large mossy lawn behind the house containing an area big enough for a Quidditch pitch – that was an important factor in both Harry and Ginny's future plans for their home. A small stream marked the boundary of the warding before the hill rose steeply for several hundred feet more. The heather had all but died off this late in the year and the rocky peak was visible in the cold winter sunshine. But it wasn't the isolated beauty of Sheilhill Cottage or the stark splendour of Ben Llachie's winter foliage that drew the gaze of Harry's companions. Running about on the grass kicking and throwing a brightly coloured ball was a young, slender woman with hair like fire tumbling down her back. With her was a child – a child with black hair and when he turned and ran towards Harry, they could all see that he had green eyes – the green eyes he'd inherited through his father from his grandmother Lily.

"Daddy!"

"My heart and my lifeblood," repeated Harry, swinging the child up into his arms. "Hey, Trouble."

The three Weasleys gaped in astonishment, their surprised attention focused completely on the boy. As they dumbfoundedly took in the appearance of the child, the young woman dropped the ball she was holding and gazed at the visitors, her expression one of tearful yearning. "Mum," she whispered.

The child tilted his head to one side and stared for a moment at the strangely garbed visitors before burrowing his head into his father's shoulder. Harry chuckled. "Surely you cannot be shy?"

Jamie squirmed closer against his father, keeping a wary eye on the strangers.

"You cannot deny this one, Harry." Fleur was the first one to recover and after an all-encompassing look at her gobsmacked husband declared with a chuckle, "this is the first my husband knows of this young man, I take it? You do keep the surprises coming."

Harry was about to answer when his wife barrelled past him and threw her arms around Molly. "Mum!"

"Ginny!" Molly was left speechless for the second time in five minutes - speechless and tearful. She hadn't wanted to meet this wife of Harry's. He was supposed to be with her daughter and not this Muggle outsider and when she'd seen the girl running about after the ball, she'd not registered the obvious signs. This living, breathing wonderful girl in her arms was her Ginny returned to her. She didn't think she'd cried so much since Arthur had died. All she could do was clasp her daughter close and let her emotions rule. Ginny was Harry's wife. Harry had risked marrying Ginny and prevented her from being sacrificed to Ministry approved wizards with Dark connections like Draco Malfoy.

The marriage contract had been broken or circumvented and her daughter and the boy she considered to be as good as a seventh son had married and had a baby together.

"Bill, this is Jamie. This is my son...I mean, our son. Mine and Ginny's."

Molly could hear Harry's voice through the strange ringing in her ears. She had her daughter back – her Ginny, the longed for seventh child - only to find that her baby had a baby of her own. This wasn't the way things should have happened. Ginny should never have had to leave the only world she knew.

"He's gone very shy which isn't like him at all," Harry muttered. "Jamie Arthur Potter, this is your Uncle Bill and your Aunt Fleur. The lady hugging mummy very tightly is your Grandma Molly and she's going to love you to bits. She will also feed you until you can't move."

"Why didn't you say anything, Harry?" Bill couldn't take his eyes of the child. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We trust you more than the Order, you know that," Harry declared. "But Ginny and I wanted Molly to be the first to know about Jamie - apart from Poppy. She was present at his birth and helped us hide him." He looked at Molly. "We wanted him to be your special surprise, Mrs. Weasley."

"Call me Molly or Mum, Harry. Please." Molly lifted her head and gazed dazedly at the child in Harry's arms. "Is he a....?"

"Wizard?" Ginny gave a watery chuckle as she stepped away from her mother. "Oh, yes. He's definitely a wizard and already levitating his toys," she said proudly. "Mum, this is your grandson. He's called..."

"I wouldn't care if he was a squib. He's my grandson." Molly pulled herself together. "I heard the words 'Jamie Arthur Potter'. It's a good name. Arthur would be so proud and Harry, he looks just like you."

Harry chuckled. "So I've been told, but he has his mother's smile," he said, his eyes catching Ginny's.

Jamie suddenly held out his hands to Molly. "'Lo," he muttered uncertainly. His mother seemed to think that this strangely dressed lady was alright and his Dad was happy too.

"That's your Grandma, Jamie," said Harry. "She's going to love you, spoil you and knit you jumpers that match your eyes with a 'J' on the front."

Molly gave another soft sob and took the boy from his father's arms. "My precious boy," she crooned. "Won't everyone be surprised about you when they see you and..."

"Mum..." Ginny said hesitantly. "Nobody knows about him in the wizarding world. We told you that you were the first to know about him. We have to keep him safe fr...from..."

Molly frowned. "The Ministry will have..."

Ginny shook her head. "They won't – we've made sure of it. Think, Mum. The child of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley would be a wonderful target for someone good or evil to exploit. He's not in the Magical Register for births because we didn't want him there and Poppy...Madam Pomfrey helped us with a spell that hid him from the wizarding world."

Bill and Fleur exchanged a look. The mediwitch had been keeping some very important secrets. They'd only discovered that she was close to Harry. "I don't think I've heard of that spell," said Bill."

"It's old magic," said Ginny. "Poppy knew about it – Dumbledore would probably know about it, too."

"Is this a permanent solution?" Bill asked. "He could have problems if it is..."

"No, it's temporary," said Harry, an anxious frown creasing his forehead. "Now that others know about him it will get harder to disguise and disrupt his magical signature as he grows. We just wanted to keep him safe and Poppy had read up on this spell. I don't want to have to hand him over to Malfoy or worse." A shadow passed across his face. "I was about his age when my parents were killed. He won't be two until May. I don't want Jamie to experience what Neville and I had to go through. I don't want my son to stay with people who don't love him and used for something that might never happen."

Jamie began to wriggle in his grandmother's grasp so she handed him to Bill. The curse-breaker stared at the child wondering if this is what it would feel like to have his own child. There was something about Jamie that instantly melted his heart. This was his nephew and soon he would hold his own son or daughter.

"Down," the child ordered. "Ball."

Bill was about to place him on the grass when Harry said. "What do you say?"

Jamie's little face scrunched up in thought and then he flashed his father and his Uncle Bill a huge grin. "Pease," he said.

Bill laughed as he set the child down and watched him scamper away after his ball. "You're right, Harry. The smile is pure Weasley."

"That's what I'm worried about," the dark-haired wizard replied gravely. "It's the propensity for mischief involved with the name."

Ginny arched an eyebrow. "Are you referring to me, Potter?"

Harry's smile vanished. "No, Ginny-love. I was, of course, thinking our darling son's twin uncles, Fred and George."

"Of course you were," Ginny mumbled. "I don't think you can talk, Mr. Potter, when it comes to mischief making."

"Me?" Harry held up his hands in surrender wearing his most innocent face. "Watch Jamie for a bit and I'll finish getting lunch ready." Molly moved to go with Ginny. "No, Mum, stay with Jamie and Ginny for now. I'll do it, Gin. We can talk properly after lunch."

Ten minutes later Harry directed the Weasleys into the spacious kitchen. "Have a seat and help yourself," he said as Ginny began handing out large mugs of tea and various types of sandwiches.

"Dumbledore will be so happy to know that you're safe," said Molly. "He's been very worried about you."

"You will not tell Dumbledore anything," said Ginny stiffly.

"Now young lady..." Molly began, her voice rising irritably. Dumbledore was the most powerful light wizard alive and needed to know that Ginny and Harry were safe.

"We do not want to tell Dumbledore anything yet," said Harry, his voice soft. "We will tell him when we are ready to and not before."

"But..."

"No, Mum," said Ginny.

"I think I know what's best for you," countered Molly. "Dumbledore should be told."

"I disagree," said Harry. Ginny nodded in agreement with her husband. "Dumbledore is the acknowledged leader of the light and, yes, the only one that Voldemort feared...oh for heaven's sake," he spat as Molly winced. "Voldemort...Voldemort!" Harry got up from the table and paced back and fore. "Mrs. Weasley...Molly, I had issues with the headmaster before I left the wizarding world."

"And after hearing what happened to Harry over the years, so do I," said Ginny. "Dumbledore used Harry shamefully. He didn't monitor his upbringing, he deliberately placed him in danger at school and kept him ignorant of his history and possible fate. And he would have done nothing to get me out of the Malfoy marriage..."

"And you think that marrying Harry in a Muggle ceremony has done that?" asked her mother. "You've broken the law. When they find out where you are, there's a good chance that you will still have to marry Draco Malfoy."

"No," said Harry and Ginny together. "That will not happen," Harry continued.

"We think that it's Percy and the Malfoys who haven't paid attention to the rules," admitted Ginny, a hard look in her eyes. "Anyway, Malfoy wouldn't want me now. I'm damaged goods – not the spotless pureblood virgin. I would be imprisoned or killed."

Bill gave the fang earring he was wearing a little tug. "Your marriage contract...what did it look like? Were there any distinguishing features?"

Ginny scowled. "I didn't touch it, remember?"

"It was written upon a sheet of the finest cream parchment," murmured Harry. "I remember the calligraphy artwork was impressive and to complete the presentation, it was tied with a silver and green silk ribbon." His green eyes widened behind his glasses. "Typical Malfoy Slytherin ostentation, don't you think?"

"Was it in the family bureau?" asked Bill. "I did have a scan through the contents before we left but I couldn't find it. There were some parchments tied with coloured ribbons but none of them were your marriage contract, Gin."

"I think that Hermione placed it the bottom drawer where Dad kept the family grimoire. That's where all our best pieces of parchment are kept. She wanted me to frame it and hang it on the wall or something." Ginny shook her head in disbelief at Hermione's actions. "As if I would do that. It was the last thing I wanted to see displayed."

"I think it's important that we find it," declared Bill. "They would have copies in the Ministry but I don't want to alert any of our enemies yet by asking to see those. As soon as they find out about Harry and Ginny, all hell will break loose."

"Mrs. Weasley...Molly..." Harry said earnestly. "We have to protect Jamie and..." he glanced at his wife, "the new baby."

"What!" exclaimed Molly.

"Yes," confirmed Ginny, her face lit up in a smile. "Harry and I are expecting a brother or sister for Jamie. I personally think that it's another boy but..."

"You were right about Jamie," Harry acknowledged. "But that could just have been a lucky guess."

"Another baby?" murmured Molly dazedly. "You're having another baby? But you're still a child..."

"I'm twenty-two. I'm not a child. I haven't been a child since the Chamber of Secrets back in my first year at Hogwarts." Ginny's lip trembled. "We're married, albeit in the Muggle world, but it's legally binding nonetheless. We've been married for four years, Mum, and Jamie wasn't an accident. He was planned and wanted. This is no overnight idea. We wanted Jamie to have a brother or a sister," she said. "I'm due in June. We're a family and we really know how Harry's parents must have felt. We would do the same to protect our children."

Molly opened her mouth and closed it again. "Well," she managed to eventually say. "I didn't mean..." She looked helplessly at Ginny and Harry. "When you left, you were only seventeen and Harry, eighteen. Part of me still thinks that's how old you are. You didn't even go back to Hogwarts for your final year."

"I can take my Newts any time I want to." Ginny winked at Fleur. "The cousins will be the same age."

Fleur moved from her seat and hugged Ginny. The days of her being referred to as Phlegm were long over. The Weasley daughter knew that Fleur loved Bill deeply. "They will be playmates, Oui?"

"They will. Merlin, Hogwarts had better watch out." Ginny looked over at her son who was shredding a slice of bread into tiny little pieces. "He needs a nap or he'll be the grumpiest toddler in this part of the country and no, I'm not saying exactly where we are. I'm sure you'll make educated guesses but I'd rather you didn't say anything out loud."

"I'll take him upstairs," Harry offered lightly "Come on, Trouble," he said and bore a protesting Jamie upstairs.

"Are you sure that your marriage is legally binding," asked Molly worriedly once Harry and Jamie had disappeared from view. "The Malfoys will look for any loophole and will not consider a Muggle ceremony to be legal."

"At first we wondered about that," Ginny admitted. "Harry and I married under our assumed names, Jennifer Weston and Gary Peters. When we checked the marriage certificate it had been magically altered to display our real identities. We think that magic approves."

"Either that or the goblins fixed it," Harry added with a smirk.

"I'm going to nip back to The Burrow," decided Bill with a smile at his sister, "and look again for the wedding contract. I think if we find it I should take it to the goblins. I would like their take on it."

Ginny put the dishes in the dishwasher and switched it on. "A good idea but you'll need to move outside to apparate away." Bill grinned, gave Fleur a kiss and headed outside to disapparate.

"What?" she asked turning her mother. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"Why did you put the dirty dishes away in that strange metal cupboard Ginny?" asked Molly.

Ginny giggled. "It's a Muggle device called a 'dishwasher'. I thought you would have heard of one of those."

"I have heard of it," Fleur admitted. "Why not do them by magic?"

"We've been living as Muggles without magic." Ginny looked a little haunted. "There is a reason for it but I'll wait for Harry to finish with Jamie before we talk about it. Bill already knows..."

"Why didn't you contact us before this, Ginny," asked Molly. "I missed you so much. I thought you'd be gone for a few weeks – a month or two at most but when five years passed and no news..." She fished in her pocket for a handkerchief and giving her nose a good blow continued, "I thought you might have been killed or captured and no one told us. Just one word would have been enough to let me know that you were, at least, alive. Instead you've been safe here all along."

"Describe your definition of safe." Ginny's voice was dry and bitter. "The reason we didn't contact you _was_ because of the safety issue."

Harry returned to the room and heard Molly's words and Ginny's challenge. "Mrs. Weasley...Molly..., there was a real explanation for why we couldn't do magic. I think the fact that we still do a lot of things 'the Muggle way' is habit. I was brought up in a Muggle household and was used to doing chores without magic. For Ginny it was much more difficult because she'd never been without it before."

"You didn't want to be tracked." Fleur declared.

"The _trace_ certainly was a good reason for not doing magic but it wasn't the main one." Harry nodded approvingly at his sister-in-law. "It was more than likely that Dumbledore or someone at the Ministry would be able to locate me if I performed any magic at all. However they might have found that difficult." He took a deep breath. "Mrs. Weasley, I couldn't do any magic at all. I completely lost my magic because of Voldemort's curse. Basically, I'd been turned into a squib."

"What!" Fleur's perfectly manicured fingers flew up to her mouth in horror. "_Magisiphonoux_," she breathed the name of the curse. "You lost your magic. _Merde!_"

Harry's mouth dropped open. "You have heard of it? You've _actually_ heard of it?"

"Oui." The French girl nodded her silvery head. "At Beauxbatons the very best students in the senior Defence class learn about the Unforgiveables and Dark Arts curses such as these so that we recognise them. That particular curse is one of the most horrific I have ever heard of. It should also be classed as 'Unforgiveable." She looked at Harry anxiously. "Your magic...?"

"My magic had to drain away completely before it could begin the slow recovery process. It's taken me over five years to be back at something approaching full strength and I'm one of the lucky ones as far as this curse is concerned. Madam Pomfrey, by some miracle, had been relaxing with some 'light' reading from the Black family library." He felt a soft hand wriggle into his own and he looked into his wife's bright brown eyes. "Poppy originally gave me ten years to recover – it took me five. I was lucky."

"Harry thinks that Dumbledore heard the curse being cast but made no effort to get him the correct treatment. It was lucky that Poppy was close and knew the spells to stabilise things."

"I didn't know what exactly had been cast in my direction but considering who was on the other end of the wand, I guessed it wouldn't be a walk to Hogsmeade on a nice day. But as I said, luckily for me, Poppy did know what it was." He moved restlessly in his chair. "I think Dumbledore guessed that I wasn't going to calmly submit to his plans for me any longer. I was an adult and there is always the chance in Dumbledore's mind that I could go dark."

"Harry would never become dark," declared Ginny fiercely.

"He kept quoting the 'power he knew not', phrase at me." Harry scowled. "Voldemort is a powerful wizard and has had years more to study magic. How could I compete with that? I don't have any idea how I am going to defeat the snake. I don't think it's through sheer magical power." He laughed bitterly. "Dumbledore doesn't either. He said that he thought the curse had missed me. _Missed me!_ Voldemort was standing over me. There was absolutely nothing I could have done. I sent the Avada Kedavra curse at him in a last gasp attempt to save my life. It saved my life but in the process of defending myself once more I lost my magic."

We've discussed this many times, Mum," Ginny offered quietly. "Dumbledore is apprehensive over the amount of power he thinks Harry has."

"The way I think he sees things is this: I have to defeat Voldie by myself or die trying. That's the prophecy in a nutshell. My magical ability before the curse was strong but I can't think that I was any stronger magically than say...Hermione or Ron but the headmaster thinks that I am. I personally think that I hadn't approached anywhere near the level of a Dumbledore or a Tom Riddle but the headmaster is worried about what happens if I survive the final confrontation. If perhaps, the _Magisiphonou_x curse did reduce my power, it would make me less likely to become a dark wizard in some eyes." His expression darkened. "It makes me so...angry that Dumbledore could even consider that I might turn...evil."

"Harry..." murmured Ginny softly. "We know that."

"He should have known, too." The young wizard's voice showed the hurt he felt at his onetime mentor's apparent betrayal. "Reducing my power gives Voldemort the edge."

"But you have truly recovered, Harry?" asked Fleur.

"I think so."

"Being here has helped," he said softly.

"We've been here for four years and we love it," Ginny said. "This is our home but you are welcome in it. Dumbledore isn't...yet. He will not use Jamie as a bargaining chip for our compliance. Nobody will."

"Soon," Harry said reassuringly. "In a way I can understand Dumbledore's reasoning. He was only doing what he thought was best but I must be allowed to make my own decisions – my own mistakes. I will forgive him eventually but I repeat, he cannot be making my decisions for me...or my family."

Molly gave a reluctant nod. "Alright, Harry. As you are safe and well I won't say anything for now."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

The records book at Hogwarts gave a little shudder as the magical quill scratched out a single initial followed by a series of illegible ink blots into a space no one previously considered to be there. But as it would be several months before it was even looked at, no one would take any notice.

In the Weasley family home, the head of that family was raking through the fourth drawer of his late father's desk. As his hand closed over a stiff roll of creamy parchment, a voice behind him asked, "Bill, what are you doing with that?"

36


	27. Chapter 27

**The Unbreakable Vow 27**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. **

**My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

Bill let himself into the Burrow and made his way once again to his father's old desk. Tapping the desk with his wand, he murmured the password, "_eckeltricity,_" and with a faint squeak, the bottom drawer slid open. "Yes," he whispered gleefully. This looked to be promising. It did help to know exactly what he was looking for and where it should be. As his hand closed over a stiff roll of creamy parchment, he heard a voice behind him asking, "Bill what are you doing with that? Can I be of any help?"

"Hermione," he said, without turning around. "I didn't know anyone was home." Bill had thought that The Burrow was still empty. "I was looking for some spare parchment as I need to send some Head-of-House-Weasley letters to the Wizengamot," he explained stiffly, inwardly wincing at what must be the most transparent lie ever to come out of his mouth. "Dad used to keep the really good stuff hidden in this drawer."

"Oh."

"It didn't really work. We all knew where he hid things and what the password was." Bill turned around, the rolled up parchment still held in his grasp. "I think this is a spare piece of parchment and just what I need..."

Hermione's eyes narrowed with recognition at the roll of creamy paper in his hands. "No, it's not a spare anything. That's Ginny's marriage contract."

Bill pretended to look surprised while stifling his hiss of satisfaction. "Is it?"

"The parchment is of the very best quality," Hermione explained confidently. "There is only one wizarding company producing such fine parchment today. The Ministry uses it for all their official documents and the wealthiest families..."

"Like the Malfoys." Bill's fingers moved to the green and silver ribbon. He supposed that she would know such things, being Percy's assistant at the Ministry and also being present when the contract had been presented. "The goblins, on the other hand, use a much heavier grade of parchment."

"Yes." Hermione shifted nervously from one foot to the other as if she was afraid of even mentioning their name. "They use it for their everyday correspondence. The ribbon around the document is in Slytherin colours, charmed to remain so without fading or fraying. Lucius Malfoy's family crest is primarily in Slytherin colours and has been charmed into the parchment itself. The document is a work of art with miniature scenes representing a happy and fruitful marriage and in any other house would be displayed for all to admire..."

"Work of art, Merlin's..." Bill's lips tightened over the words he was about to say as he unceremoniously pulled the offending piece of silk from the parchment. He unrolled it carefully and then frowned. "This can't be the marriage contract," he stated, his eyebrows arching towards his hairline.

"I can assure you that it is," Hermione returned primly. "I recognise the actual document itself and I can remember putting it in that drawer. Ginny wanted nothing to do with it, so I tidied it away where it would be safe." She sniffed. "None of the other scrolls in the drawer are tied with Slytherin colours."

Bill had to admit that she had a point because the bottom of the drawer was littered with scraps of fraying material, mainly in faded reds and washed-out golds. But this time, the brightest witch of her generation was wrong. "No, Hermione." He held it up so that she could see it. "It can't be the contract. This piece of parchment is completely blank."

"What! But it can't be. I would swear that this is Ginny's contract. How could that have happened?" Hermione couldn't believe it. Everything fit. The colour of the ribbon, the quality of the parchment and the fact that she'd placed it in the drawer herself. "That's very strange." She whipped out her wand and cast a revealing spell. The parchment remained exactly the same. "I would have sworn on my magic..." Her eyes narrowed.

"That means I can use this piece after all. Good." He offered up a cheerfully false smile as he rolled it up and clumsily tied the ribbon, hoping that Hermione couldn't see through him. "As you said, it's the best quality and that's just what I need." He placed the parchment into a pocket in his cloak. Bill exhaled in disappointment as he closed the drawer with a quick flick of his wand. He would have to come back and do another search. It could be anywhere in the house. One thing that could be said about The Burrow was its homely cluttered disorganisation and he wouldn't have it any other way. However, it made finding things very difficult. He discounted the idea that the twins might have moved it.

"I must have a look for Ginny's contract," Hermione muttered worriedly. "It won't look good for the family if it's been lost. We could be fined."

"There are other copies though," said Bill casually.

"Lodged with the Ministry and the offering family, yes. But we don't want to admit to losing the primary copy. It's nothing less than a slur on the family name." She lunged towards the desk only to have Bill hold her back.

"Careful, Hermione." Bill steadied the young witch. "This desk is not the most stable piece of furniture in this house."

"I put it there myself." Hermione's last sentence came out as a wail. "If it's not there – then where is it?"

"Would anyone else in the family have moved it?"

Hermione bit her lip. "No. I don't think anyone else cared what happened to it and after Ginny disappeared..."

"It will turn up," he said comfortingly. "It's not as if Ginny needs it right now. I'll come over some time and help you look for it but now I need to get back to Fleur."

"Of course." She sent a penetrating stare at the desk as if she could see through it. "I'll have a look for the contract later. I can't do it now as have a meeting with Dumbledore this afternoon."

"An Order meeting?" Bill asked quietly.

"Not really. It's for research. The Order will be told our findings at tomorrow's meeting – if we find anything."

"Findings about what?"

"Not entirely sure but I think it will have something to do with the search for Harry. I think Dumbledore has an idea of where to begin looking."

He hadn't thought of that. He should have known better than to underestimate Albus Dumbledore. Perhaps, Harry needed to forgive Hermione and Ron for whatever he was holding against them. They would need Hermione's brain and Ron's strategic skills to counteract Dumbledore's plans. Harry wouldn't fall in neatly with what everyone wanted any more but having the Order on their side could only be good. "Grimmauld Place?" Bill asked, getting to his feet.

"Yes. But you'll be sent word as to the time." Her face lit up in an excited smile. "Harry's safe and if Snape's memories are to be believed, he's well and now that we know that, we can find him. He should be home with those of us that love him." Her face showed concern. "He wasn't well when he left us."

"How do you know that?" Bill's voice tightened.

"He wouldn't have left us otherwise," she said simply, as if it was the most logical explanation in the world. "But I know Harry. He hadn't looked well...or happy all year."

"Shut up in a house he hated and with a madman constantly trying to kill him - are you surprised?" asked Bill in disbelief. Sometimes Hermione was too much even for him.

Hermione pressed her lips together before reluctantly answering, "No."

"Right." Bill adjusted the clasp of his cloak.

There was the sound of the door opening and a voice called out, "Hermione!"

"We're in here," she called back. "Ron must have finished quicker than he thought he would. I didn't expect him for another hour."

The youngest of the male Weasleys wandered into the room. "Oh, hello, Bill. I didn't know you were here. Where's Mum?"

Hermione smiled warmly in greeting her fiancé. "I don't think Molly's here, Ron."

"She's not. Mum's gone out to lunch," Bill stated quietly.

"Mum has?" Ron looked surprised. "That doesn't happen often... Not since Dad... Where's she gone?"

"Shell Cottage," Bill lied quickly. "Do you want me to give her a message" Ron shook his head. "I'm heading back there now. You don't want to be late for a meal a pregnant Veela has slaved over. Fleur can be very...fierce."

Ron chuckled and jerked his head towards Hermione. "The female of the species...I quite understand."

"Bill..." Hermione said slowly, "now that we've found Harry..."

"You've found him?" Bill shouted in alarm. "You didn't say that you'd found him. You said you were helping with the research. When did you discover his whereabouts? Has the charm..." Bill closed his mouth with a snap. Of course the charm hadn't failed. There was no Pettigrew amongst this family. That's if you ignored Percy, who wouldn't have been included in such a secret. "Where is he?"

"Hermione, you didn't tell me that Harry had been found." Ron's voice was almost a whisper. "He's _actually_ been found. When do we go..."

"Please, be quiet, both of you!" she shouted. "I'm sorry, Ron...Bill. I phrased it wrong. We haven't actually found him..." she muttered awkwardly, flushing. "But surely, it's only a matter of time before we do. We know he's alive and You-know-who has returned. It's a race against the clock because they're linked together – it's Harry's scar," she said in a whisper. "Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard apart from...You-know-who and once we..." she tailed off.

"I guess you're right," Bill murmured. He could guess what Hermione might be helping Dumbledore with this afternoon. They were fighting against the odds to keep the Potter family safe. Eventually Harry and Ginny would be found. The Fidelius would probably not mask Harry's special connection to Voldemort. It was definitely something that they had to consider.

"Do you think Harry knows where Ginny is?" Ron asked.

"I can't answer that," replied Bill. "Only Harry can."

"Somebody must know where he is," Hermione declared fervently. "Harry couldn't live a life totally devoid of human company. He must work with people and he has to interact with others to get food and other necessities."

"Do you want a sandwich?" Ron wearily muttered to his brother as if he'd been on the receiving end of Hermione's hypotheses several times already. "I'm making one for me and Hermione..."

"Not if I'm lunching with Fleur and Mum," Bill answered. "Fleur always makes too much and if I don't turn up soon she will be getting anxious..." He was about to say more when there was a rumble in the grate and Fred and George stepped from the fireplace.

"Bill!" called Fred. "Any luck? How are..."

Bill swivelled sharply around, his wand at the ready, and silently incanted a spell. "Fred, George," he said warningly as George began to flap his hands. "I was just speaking with Ron and Hermione before I returned home. You could have caught me there. Fleur and the baby are fine." Another deft twist of his wrist saw the silencing charm removed, all hopefully without Hermione and Ron being any-the-wiser. Bill Weasley was a powerful and accomplished wizard. "They're going to Hogwarts to help Dumbledore with something."

"Locating Harry by looking at Snape's memories," said Ron.

"You can do that?" asked George.

"Well..." Ron shrugged. "I don't know. We might find some clues. I'm not saying that we'll actually find a bit of parchment with Harry's address on it."

The expression in Fred's eyes as he glanced at Bill was unusually serious. "It's possible but surely..."

Bill's mouth firmed and he gave a minute shake of his head.

Hermione shot the twins and Bill a suspicious look. Something had happened between them that she'd missed. Fred had been about to say something and Bill had stopped him. "What were you going to say, Fred?" she asked sweetly.

Fred immediately chuckled and clapped Bill hard on the shoulder. "I was about to ask how my sister-in-law and my niece or nephew-to-be are faring?"

"Very well." Bill smirked. "I'm joining them _all_ for lunch. Do you want to come?"

"We'd love to but we have to get back to the shop," answered George with the right amount of regret. "We left Lee in charge but we have a couple of experiments simmering over a hot fire in a slow cauldron."

"Later?"

George smirked and winked. "If the cauldron survives."

"Talking of experiments," said Hermione snippily. "What happened to my mobile phone?"

"Ah!" said Fred carefully. "The jury is still out on that one. It's under..."

"Development," finished George. "Or it could be inside the slow cauldron," he said thoughtfully. "Did you Gred...?"

"No, Forge, old bean. I wouldn't deliberately drop Hermione's mobile fun into a slowly bubbling cauldron. I wouldn't even do it accidentally."

"I want it back in one piece," Hermione threatened. "Or else I will employ my rapidly expanding repertoire of curses to bear in your direction."

Fred and George looked at one another and gave a nod. The message had been received and understood. They glanced at Bill, giving him another discreet nod indicating that they would be in touch, and then stepped back into the fireplace with a shout of "Weasley Wizard Wheezes."

"Those two get worse and worse. I don't pretend to even guess what they're on about." Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "What was that all about?"

"What?" asked Bill irritably. He gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "Oh, nothing. It's Fred and George. When do we ever know what they're on about? Look, guys, I'd better get back to Fleur."

"You'll be at the Order meeting tomorrow?" asked Hermione quickly.

"Of course. We both will." Bill hesitated, realising that he couldn't just walk outside and apparate to Shielhill. He'd have to floo to Shell Cottage first to avoid suspicion. Why couldn't he just tell Ron and Hermione that he knew where Harry and Ginny were? It would save an awful lot of time and angst but he suspected that Harry had to work through certain things before he would trust them all once more. Bill gave Hermione another nod and grabbed some powder from the pot on the mantelpiece. "Shell Cottage." And with a flash of green flame, he disappeared. Five minutes later he walked into the Sheilhill Cottage kitchen to find everyone sitting exactly where he had left them.

"Any luck?" Harry asked, unknowingly echoing Fred's question.

Bill shrugged. "I'm not sure." He pulled the parchment from the pocket of his robe. "I was going through the bottom drawer when Hermione walked in on me. "I said that I needed a nice piece of parchment for an important letter and that Dad had kept spare pieces of quality parchment in that particular drawer. Normally, she would be on to me in an instant but I think her mind is taken up with searching for you, Harry." He held it out. "She identified this as being your marriage contract, Ginny."

"Hermione's not often wrong," said Molly. "So, if she said it was the marriage contract, then it was."

"She's usually right enough," said Bill thoughtfully. "Hermione is a smart witch. She and Ron are heading to Hogwarts this afternoon to aid the headmaster in searching through Snape's memories. He must think that she might pick up on something that others would overlook."

"We knew this would happen," Harry stated thoughtfully. "Hermione likes nothing better than this sort of challenge."

"You should tell her, Harry," urged Molly. "Both her, Ron and Albus..." She broke off looking confused and a little distressed. "I don't understand why you are keeping this from them."

"Molly...Mum..." Harry's eyes sought those of his wife. He wasn't too sure why he was doing this either but deep down, he'd felt betrayed by his friends and his one-time mentor and part of him wanted to let them wait until he was certain that they had the safety protocols established and he could get their unconditional support. No one was perfect but Harry had been hurt so many times. Trust came hard for him now.

"Mum, we're being careful and we will tell them...soon. But our first priority is our son. We have to protect Jamie and because of that, we are keeping things a secret for a bit longer." Ginny gave the rolled and beribboned parchment a long look as if she could see inside it. "It looks like the damned thing. But I wouldn't be entirely certain. Remember, I wanted nothing to do with it and didn't touch it at all. I'm not even going to touch it now...just in case."

Bill grinned. "Wise."

Harry stood up. "It's the contract," he declared. "It has to be."

"That's what Hermione thought and I agreed with her." Bill pulled off the Slytherin ribbon with a flourish and tossed it into the centre of the table. "However..." He began unrolling the parchment. "This one is completely blank. There's not a lot of magic active in this piece of parchment."

"So it is. I would swear..." Harry closed his eyes and tried to remember what the contract had looked like. "Where's the fruit bowl, Gin?"

His wife chuckled. "In the display cabinet behind you."

"What do you need a fruit bowl for?" asked Bill. "Apart from fruit, that is?"

Harry grinned and brought out the Pensieve. "We took this with us when we left. Ginny thought it would look nice with fruit in it."

"She what!" Bill's eyebrows rose in horror as he took in the nature of the artefact and then looked at his smirking sister. "Ginny, that's a Pensieve."

"Yes, but it _looks_ like a fruit bowl. We've never actually put fruit in the Pensieve...mainly because we didn't know if the fruit had memories or would react adversely to the magic. But we did think about it."

"I've heard a lot of strange things." Bill rolled his eyes. "I forget sometimes that you are related closely to Fred and George until you remind me. 'Fruit have memories' indeed."

"I remember that you are related to Percy, and forget that you were Hogwarts head boy and managed to get twelve OWLs," Ginny retorted smartly.

Harry placed the tip of his wand at his temple and drew out the thin silvery strand of memory and deposited it in the Pensieve. "Bill...Fleur?"

"_Merci_, Harry." Fleur glanced at her husband and then dipped her head into the memory, emerging a couple of minutes later. "Go ahead, Bill. Molly, I think you should also have a look. It does look like the same one." She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment and then smiled. "Could I examine the parchment, Harry?"

He nodded. "Of course you can."

With a quick flick of her wand, Fleur had the opened scroll hovering in the air in front of her. "Lumos," she said. "Mmm...interesting."

"Hermione tried a revealing spell," Bill told his wife.

"And it didn't work, did it?" the French witch stated briskly. "Could you do a Lumos spell directly behind the parchment?"

Bill complied. He knew that he had married a wonderfully clever witch and she obviously had an idea that they hadn't yet considered. The Gringotts' goblins had not employed Fleur because she was beautiful – they didn't care for such nonsense. She had been a Tri-wizard champion, too.

"Aha!" Fleur exclaimed after another quick flick of her wand.

"What?" Harry and Ginny asked.

"Can you see it?" Fleur was pointing her wand at the parchment. "It's difficult to make out but it is there."

"I can't see anything," murmured Molly. "But then, my eyes are not what they were."

"Adjust the angle of your wand, Bill," Fleur instructed, "so that it's shining directly behind the parchment. Look closer, _Belle-mère_. Now can you see anything?"

Molly squinted at the creamy paper and then gave a soft gasp. "I can make out very faint markings on the paper - as if something was there before."

"Bill," murmured Fleur. "What does the Malfoy Crest look like?"

Bill made a face and tapped a finger against his lips. "It's green and silver...Slytherin colours..."

"Now there's a surprise," Ginny said darkly.

"Hush, Ginny," Fleur muttered, flicking silent spells at the parchment with her wand. "The colours have long faded but some inks are more resistant to time and magic and that is all that remains. Fortunately, because I have Veela blood in my veins, I can see more..."

"Faded!" Harry exclaimed. "So it is the contract."

"_Oui_, I am almost certain that this was a document of some kind. This parchment is steeped in magic or it was once. I could also point out that no wizard that I know would ever wrap a piece of blank parchment in a green and silver ribbon – or any sort of ribbon for that matter. Can you remember exactly what the Malfoy crest looked like, Bill?" Again, she waved her wand over the hovering scroll, glaring at it as if she was threatening an inanimate object into giving up its secrets.

Bill frowned. "It's one of the _old_ family crests – the Malfoy's are one of the oldest wizarding families still in existence – like the Potters, the Dumbledore's and the Weasleys. I remember seeing it on some Gringotts documents - a design on a shield with a dragon, or a serpent of some sort, and crossed wands, I think. To be honest, I never paid too much attention to it."

"Bill, as the head of the House Weasley you should know all this," Molly remarked quietly. "You're a pureblood wizard..."

"So," her son replied unrepentantly, his gaze fixed upon his wife. "This whole blood thing is what got the wizarding world into such a mess in the first place. I don't care which wizard has the purest blood and normally neither do you, Mum."

"I know." Molly sighed. "And I don't care. You know I didn't mean for it to sound like it did but even as 'blood-traitors' we should be aware of our history and culture. Especially now, so that we will not make the same mistakes as we did before. You are a pureblood wizard from a family that cares nothing for such status and I'm glad. Your father would say the same. You know how he was about anything Muggle but he would want you to know your wizarding history. Some of these family crests are true works of art."

Fleur cleared her throat. "I can almost make out the shape of what could be the serpent...or dragon," she announced. "It's impossible to say for sure. The colours have gone and nothing I can do will bring them back. However..." She ran her wand over the parchment one last time. "I have drawn the last vestiges of the ink to the surface but it's merely a history of what once was there. _Regarder_."

Harry, Bill and Ginny moved behind Fleur's shoulder and peered at the parchment. What had been a blank, creamy parchment now boasted faint grey squiggles which once might have been elegant penmanship.

"I can't get it any clearer than that," she admitted. "But you can just about make out the name Malfoy...here," she indicated the place on the parchment, "and Weasley...there."

Ginny looked at Harry in alarm. "You've made it legible?"

"Hardly," Fleur dismissed airily.

"If we can see it then I'm bound by it," Ginny declared. "I'm not marrying Malfoy. I can't as I'm already married." She glared at the rest of the occupants of the kitchen. "I'm not endangering my son's life."

"_Calme, ma petite_," Fleur soothed. "It will fade again. These are temporary charms and for a reason _ma mère_ never explained to me, something the Veela can do."

"What happens now?" asked Ginny.

Fleur flicked her wrist and the scroll immediately rolled itself up – the ribbon wrapping around it and ending up with a flourishing bow. "I take it to the goblins and see if it is still active, which I doubt."

"We could see my name," Ginny muttered. "My name linked to that arrogant, death-eating pri..."

"Ginevra Molly...Potter!" Molly exclaimed. "Don't finish that sentence."

"I didn't," Ginny retorted sulkily. "You cut me off before I could."

"Not that I don't agree with the sentiment," Molly admitted, with a shame-faced smile. "But I didn't bring you up to use such language and you don't want to set a bad example for the little one."

"No, he has Harry for that," Ginny shot back.

"I like that," Harry said mildly. "Why do I always have to get the blame? Talking of the little one...I think he should be retrieved or we'll never get him to sleep tonight."

"Which means that his poor parents won't get any sleep," muttered Ginny.

Molly opened her mouth and then closed it again, looking uncertain.

Harry's mood dipped. This wasn't the take-charge Molly Weasley he and Ginny had left behind five years ago and although it was difficult to see, he could understand why she was like this. She'd been seriously ill in St. Mungos for several months after the attack in which she'd also lost her husband. Her daughter had run away to avoid a marriage to a Death Eater and one of her sons had voluntarily chosen the Ministry over his family.

Molly's confidence had been severely shaken and even after five years had not totally reappeared. Harry wanted to see the strong woman he'd known return. They were all going to need her to help hold them together in the very near future.

"Ginny..." he said quietly. He'd guessed that Molly wanted to be the one to awaken her grandson but had been afraid to ask.

But he needn't have worried. His wonderful wife had it covered.

Ginny held out her hand. "Come on, Mum. You and I will deal with Jamie. He can be a bit grouchy when he wakes up from a nap. He's like his father in that respect."

"Hey!" Harry protested, as his wife and mother-in-law disappeared from the kitchen and could be heard climbing the stairs. "I'm sitting right here and I'm protesting such a vicious slur on my spotless character for the second time in as many minutes."

Ginny's face appeared back around the door. "It's true and you know it. Remember darling, I can use my wand once more - just as well as you can and for some spells...I can do it better. Bat Bogey Hex, anyone?" Cheekily, she blew him a kiss and tucked back out of sight.

Harry sighed with appreciation. "I just love that witch."

Bill chuckled lightly and looked at his wife. "What do you want to do now, Fleur?"

"I want to take this to the goblins." She indicated the rolled up piece of parchment. "They are Harry's point of contact between the magical and the Muggle world and seem to be happy to help protect him."

"Ginny and I couldn't have survived exile for this long without them. We owe them nothing short of a life debt. It was all Sirius's idea to ask the goblins for help. He wanted me to have a bolt-hole away from..." Harry sighed. "My destiny...whatever you want to call it. This is far from over. Voldemort has returned and will come after me. I know what to expect. I just don't want him to get Ginny and Jamie along the way."

"We'll head back to Gringott's now and return for Mum later," Bill decided. "She'll want a bit of time to play with her grandson. I can't really believe it that my little sister has a child of her own."

"Soon Jamie will have a cousin and a brother or sister," Harry said contentedly. "Ginny says 'it's a brother'."

"Is she right?"

Harry held up his hands. "I don't know but she was right the first time. I don't know very much about pregnant witches but they connect with the child that they're carrying on a level Muggle women will never understand. I don't care if it is a boy or a girl. I just want it to be healthy and Ginny to be strong. If she says it's a boy, then it is."

"Bill, the clock hands are spinning away from us," murmured Fleur, "and we have no access to a time-turner."

"True," he said, glancing at his watch. "We'd better get going. One of us will return for Mum later."

Harry nodded. "Make it after Jamie's bedtime. Molly is having far too much fun enjoying the surprise of being a grandmother. It would be really unfair of me to send her home early. I want my children to know their only remaining grandparent. I'm not letting Voldemort ruin that for us. She'll be fine."

"More than fine." Bill swirled his travelling cloak around his shoulders. "This is the best thing that's happened to our family since Dad died. The Weasleys...and the Potters will survive this coming conflict."

"It is coming, isn't it, Bill?" Harry gazed steadily towards the older wizard.

Bill sighed and gave a reluctant nod. "I think so."

"We want our children to grow up in peace and I'll do anything to ensure that it happens," Harry vowed steadily.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Hogwarts wasn't the same now that she was an adult, Hermione decided as she and Ron strolled hand in hand up to the castle. It was still as beautiful, still as jaw-droppingly amazing but there was a feeling that her time there had passed. "It always seems funny being here now," she noted thoughtfully.

"It's school and we're adults. Adults don't go to school," Ron said matter-of-factly.

Hermione pulled her book bag higher up over her shoulder. "Some adults do. I could have gone to university if I'd wanted to."

"You want to study more?" Ron's voice was incredulous.

"Ronald, there's nothing wrong with wanting to learn," Hermione snapped. "We should never stop learning. Life should be a continual learning experience..."

Ron grinned as she predictably rose to the bait. "I was just teasing you, Hermione."

"Oh!" she muttered looking cross. "I like to research things - you know that - and I would have liked to have gone to university."

"Then why are you still working for the Ministry?" Ron asked. "You could still go. Surely the brightest witch of her age can't be happy working for my git of a brother."

"I'm there because Dumbledore wants me there. I can't help the Order otherwise. One day, though."

"Percy's nothing but a jumped up quill-sharpener," Ron retorted. "He betrayed our family..."

Hermione could see by the set of Ron's jaw how much Percy's actions had hurt him. "It's better to have me working at the Ministry to keep an eye on him. Percy's not evil..."

"He is."

Hermione shook her head. "No, he's not. He wouldn't fight for V...V...Voldemort." She finished the dark lord's name in a whisper. "His main sin is his ambition. I've been thinking long and hard about this over the past few years. In his own twisted way, Percy thought he was doing the best thing for Ginny when he arranged her marriage contract."

Ron snorted. "The best thing for himself, you mean."

"Percy sees it very differently to us. He secures Ginny to a wealthy, politically powerful family which will keep her safe but also keep that pure-blooded connection going which will guarantee Percy an entry into the social circles he sees as necessary to his advancement." Hermione gave him a look as they climbed the steps into the entrance hall to find Mad-Eye Moody waiting for them. "Think about it, Ron," she said urgently. "That's Percy's strategy. I won't work for him forever, thank Merlin. You have to start learning what makes wizards tick – you could be such a big help to the Order."

"Couldn't you work for the Order _and_ go to University? You shouldn't have to put your life on hold for Dumbledore."

Hermione looked really pained. "Harry did. Every summer he returned to those awful relatives of his – every single summer. He was alone and unhappy. We, at least, were with our families and who did Harry have? No one. I think the real reason Harry left was because Dumbledore wanted him to return to Privet Drive."

"Hermione..." Ron began and then stopped. He had to admit that she had a point but he suspected that Harry had really left for Ginny's sake. Ron straightened his shoulders. He knew what made wizards tick.

"He was a prisoner in his own home – remember the fuss that was made when he went to the chemist? Sirius had more freedom as a wanted criminal on the run than Harry had." Hermione took a deep breath and pointed ahead. "Moody's waiting for us."

"So I see."

Hermione headed towards the grizzled old Auror. "Mad-Eye."

"Constant vigilance," the grizzled old Auror declared, brandishing his wand at them as they approached the entrance to the headmaster's office. "Where was I found at the end of the Tri-wizard tournament?"

"Locked inside your seven-compartment trunk," answered Hermione briskly.

Moody's lips moved into what passed for a smile. "Albus is waiting for you in his office. The password is 'Skiving Snack boxes'."

"Fred and George will be so proud," grinned Ron. "Wait till I tell them that Dumbledore is using one of their products as a password."

Hermione just shook her head. "Skiving Snack boxes," she said dryly.

The gargoyle in front of the spiral staircase moved aside and Ron, Hermione and Moody stepped onto it and were carried upwards towards Dumbledore's office.

"Come in." The heavy wooden door swung open and they all saw a tired looking headmaster sitting at his desk. "Mr. Weasley...Miss Granger. Good of you to come to our aid on your day off."

"I thought the quicker we found Harry, the better."

"Quite true, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, smiling genially.

"You are sure that it was Harry?" Hermione asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "As sure as it is possible to be from the Pensieve memories. The man who found Snape knew who he was and also to send him here to Hogwarts rather than St. Mungos."

Moody snorted. "Potter's managed to elude us all for over five years. What makes you think he's going to suddenly just turn up?"

"Harry found Snape," said Ron. "He must have been keeping an eye on things over the past few years. Harry's a strong wizard and..."

Hermione glimpsed a trace of a shadow cross Dumbledore's face before she decided that she'd been mistaken. "Ron's right, Professor. It's too much of a coincidence that Harry just tripped over Professor Snape."

The headmaster's mouth firmed. "I do not think Harry would have joined Lord Voldemort."

"I wasn't saying that." Ron's face was aghast at the notion. "Harry would never do that. He hates the b...Sorry professor," he apologised.

"You were hinting at something similar only last week," Hermione accused Ron softly.

"I didn't mean it, Hermione. I was angry and opened my mouth without thinking." He looked a little shame-faced. "I do that a lot but Harry left us without telling us where he was going or why he ran away. The Harry I thought I knew would never have done that. He's my best mate... my brother-by-choice... and I miss him."

"He had his reasons, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore sadly. "And many of them, I am sorry to say, are because I made some very basic mistakes where Harry was concerned. I must take some of the blame myself. I lost the important detail because I was too busy looking at the bigger picture."

Mad-Eye coughed. "We're not here to apportion blame, Albus. We're here to see if we can find the boy. The longer we wait, the more time You-know-who has to build up his power. We cannot risk him finding the boy before we do."

"That goes without saying. Time is against us." Dumbledore flicked his wand and the cabinet containing his Pensieve swung open. "I have prepared the memories Severus was able to give me. Are you ready, Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley? Some of what you are about to witness is far from pleasant."

Ron swallowed audibly but appeared resolute. "We're ready." He glanced at Hermione who nodded at him. They bent their heads towards the silvery iridescent liquid and found themselves pulled swiftly into the memories.

Five minutes later they sat up, faces white, their hands trembling.

Dumbledore's face showed his sorrow and regret. "I wish I could have spared you such images but you had to see them to get as much information on our task as possible."

"No," Ron managed to say through trembling lips. "It was exactly what we...what I needed to see. I'll never complain about Snape again. He really was risking his life every time he joined the Death Eaters"

"Professor Snape," murmured Hermione.

"What?" Ron said.

"It's 'Professor Snape'," she said. Hermione turned her attention to her former headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, I can't believe he's alive after experiencing...that."

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Neither can I, Miss Granger. A man's life can turn on the whim of fate. If Harry hadn't been there then Severus would have died. Of that there is no doubt."

"Can I view it again?" Ron asked.

"Why would you need to do that?" Hermione was appalled that Ron might be enjoying Snape's misfortune.

"I need to pay attention to what was happening around Snape. I thought you would have picked up on that, Hermione." Ron couldn't resist the chance to needle his fiancée. It wasn't often that he noticed something that she missed. "I'm not going back in there by choice."

Hermione's mouth dropped open into a small 'o' shape. She'd been so appalled by what was happening to Snape that she'd not paid attention to what was going on around him. "You're quite correct, Ron." She took a deep breath. "We need to take another look."

"Don't let yourself become distracted by what's happening," Ron advised. "Merlin, I don't like Snape but...well, no wonder he's the way he is. These people are truly evil and what the man had to go through was horrible. It's amazing how much detail is in these memories." He stuck his head into the Pensieve once more, again emerging five minutes later. "Hermione, I want you to check what's on the large table in the centre of the room. It could become important."

Hermione dutifully bent her head towards the Pensieve again. "They were throwing things on it and spitting on it," Hermione whispered. "But I couldn't see what it was. Snape blacks out almost immediately after. The next thing he's aware of is running for his life through dense woodland."

"I believe I can enlighten you," Moody declared. "It's a map of magical Britain. I've led various raids into the Malfoy family home." He scowled. "Never found anything either. If I was to go in tomorrow and old Lucius was entertaining You-know-who in the next room, I still wouldn't find anything. A few snaps of a house elf's fingers and everything would be gone."

"A map!" Ron was scribbling notes onto a piece of parchment. "Why would they be throwing things and spitting on a map?"

"I think I can answer that question, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore. "It's what we might refer to as a 'pureblood hunt'. Usually the wizards would portkey a Muggle to a desired location and hunt them. The map would be the starting point for the evening's entertainment."

Hermione was appalled. "I've never heard anything so abominable in my life."

"Indeed, Miss Granger," said the headmaster gravely. "The practise has been outlawed for many years but it is known to still occur in the highest pureblood circles. It has never been proved, of course – there are those in the ministry who will prevent such a practice from ever being documented - but it is strongly suspected to take place."

Ron looked up from his scribbling. "The map...did it take up the whole table?"

Moody's magical eye spun crazily in its socket. "I can't remember. Why?"

Ron frowned and sucked the end of his quill in thought. "It could give us a better idea of where to look. It won't be exact, but better than 'somewhere in the north of England or Scotland'. That's not particularly helpful."

"But it's the only thing we had before," murmured Hermione, "and it was better than nothing at all."

"Yes," said Ron. "But I think I can narrow it down." He glanced at Dumbledore. "With a little more information."

"I will ask Professor Snape," Dumbledore answered.

"How is he?" Hermione enquired carefully.

"He is still a very ill man, Miss Granger," Dumbledore admitted. "He's lucky to be alive. If Harry hadn't found him and sent him to Hogwarts..." He bent down to the floo and shouted for the mediwitch. "Poppy...Poppy. Is Severus able to answer a couple of questions?"

Ron and Hermione couldn't see the person on the other end but could faintly hear the voice of the mediwitch on the other end answer.

"He's much better today. Threatened to hex me more than once."

Dumbledore chuckled. "That, indeed, sounds more like the Severus we know and love. I'm coming though."

Ron's eyebrows disappeared up into his hairline. "Love!" he mouthed towards Hermione. The witch stifled her chuckle and returned her eyes to the book she was leafing through. Severus Snape would not be an easy man to love.

Five minutes later there was a rumble in the grate and Dumbledore returned to his office. "Severus was most helpful. He recalls seeing the map on a number of occasions. It apparently was enchanted to display the most prominent magical settlements of Britain and the location of the various Malfoy properties and Estates."

Ron shrugged. "I don't need to know that yet. I wouldn't expect Harry to be living near those. He's more likely to be avoiding them."

"Most astute of you, Mr. Weasley," agreed the headmaster. It was the conclusion he'd been able to make. Harry had returned to his Muggle roots and because of his lack of magic, the young man had been impossible to trace. "What exactly did you want to know?"

"I want to know the proportions of the map." Ron stood up, waving his hands about as he did so. "If the Death eaters were throwing things and spitting on this map, where did the projectiles land. It might not give us the exact location but it would be a hell of a lot nearer than anything else we've got. We could be hunting close to where the Death Eaters were chasing Snape instead of miles away."

The headmaster's blue eyes began to twinkle as a smile spread across his face. "I see where you are going with this and it's the best idea I have heard so far. Let's see what I can do." He flicked his wand over his desk and suddenly a long table appeared in its place. "That would be about the right size. Now..." he mumbled to himself. "Yes...I think that would do it." He twirled his wand in a complicated manner before jabbing it forwards at the table.

Ron and Hermione could only gaze in astonishment as a large three-dimensional map of the British Isles appeared, entirely covering the table.

"That's it, Albus," murmured Moody. "As far as I can tell, that map is identical to the one in Lucius Malfoy's study." He looked up from his examination of the table. "Why was I in old Lucius's study?" he snorted. "Another abortive Ministry raid. That man's more slippery than a whole lakeful of Merfolk. We never found anything."

"This one belongs to the school," said Dumbledore calmly. "I just called it down from the storage facility attached to the Room of Requirement."

"You can do that?" breathed Hermione.

Dumbledore laughed quietly "I am the headmaster. Hogwarts grants me several special privileges."

"Why did we never use this during classes?" Hermione asked. "It would have been a fascinating study."

Dumbledore's eyes brightened. "Do you know, Miss Granger, I don't know why we never use it. It's something the professors and I will have to consider for the next school year's curriculum."

"You could introduce a new subject into the curriculum," suggested Hermione enthusiastically. "Magical geography could be a very interesting subject and..."

"Hermione..." Ron glared at his fiancée. "Now is not the time for this."

"Of course. I wasn't thinking," the bushy-haired witch mumbled apologetically, looking crestfallen.

Ron sent her an apologetic look of his own. "I didn't mean that it was a bad idea. It's a good one but we have other things to concentrate on."

"I think you said, Albus, that it indicates areas of magical settlement?" At Dumbledore's nod, Moody produced his own wand and waved it over the map. Tiny twinkling lights appeared in several areas.

Hermione moved closer to the table, fascinated to see where all the towns and villages with magical places were. "Hogsmeade," she said pointing to one of the largest conglomerations of lights. "Dovetown..." to another.

"Ottery St. Catchpole," said Ron with a fond smile at his home village.

"Godric's Hollow," offered Dumbledore pointing his wand at a group of lights clustered in Wales close to the border with England. "Where Harry lived for the first year of his life."

"I hadn't realised there were so many settlements," said Hermione.

"The wizarding population is vastly outnumbered by the Muggle one, Miss Granger," declared the headmaster with a smile. "But there are more of us living together than you would think. Two or three families living in close proximity will register upon this map. It's a similar magic to the waiting list for Hogwarts."

"So Harry could be anywhere." Hermione looked upset.

"As I said earlier, Hermione, I would guess that Harry would be avoiding wizarding places," Ron reminded her. "We would be better off concentrating on areas where there aren't any wizards at all."

"Not a great help, Ron," Hermione muttered as she stared at the map, hoping that it would miraculously just give up Harry's location." But there were large tracts of country where there were no magical habitations at all.

"If he'd been so easy to find, Hermione, we'd have found him long ago. The whole Order looked for him and found nothing. You reminded me that Harry was Muggle-raised. He would find it easy to fit in again." Ron moved to the head of the table. "From looking at the memories in the Pensieve, the disgusting bloke spitting on this map stood around about here."

"He _was _disgusting," agreed Hermione, shuddering.

"They're Death Eaters, Miss Granger," growled Moody. "What do you expect – tea and cakes? They enjoy what they do. What we saw there was nothing to the evil they can perpetrate."

Ron was carefully eyeing the map. "I'm not going to spit on this," he said, with a sideways glance at the headmaster. "But if I could give a little weight to some small paper balls and charm them to stay in place..."

Hermione waved her wand, murmured an incantation and several small crunched up pieces of paper appeared in Ron's hand.

"Thanks, Hermione." He gave her a warm smile.

Dumbledore and Moody watched as Ron began carefully throwing the little paper balls at the map.

"I'm trying to work out the trajectory that the spit-balls took and reproduce the flight as much as I can from seeing Professor Snape's memories," declared the redhead. "It won't be exact but it should get us pretty close. We can then send Order members to quickly check the area."

Hermione watched Ron with a critical eye. "Take a step more to the right," she said thoughtfully. "The globule of spit..." She shuddered. "How disgusting. The globule of spit landed a good two thirds up the table."

Moody and Dumbledore moved close to the table and gazed at Ron's experiments with curiosity. "Most of your 'missiles' have landed in the Eastern side of Scotland, north-west of Aberdeen," observed the headmaster.

Ron nodded, all his attention focused on the map. "One or two stray ones though."

"Anything beyond Inverness?" Moody asked rhetorically as he peered at the map, his magical eye spinning. "No. That certainly narrows it down, lad," he approved. "I suppose you can't get it any more precise than that?"

"Snape couldn't see the surface of the map," Ron said. "So I can't be any more accurate. I'm gauging this from his memories."

"Are you sure, Ron, that's the right area?" Hermione's voice was anxious. Five years and they finally had a place to begin looking. She couldn't face another wild hippogriff chase. Now that V...V... She sighed. Now that 'You-know-who' was back it was more imperative than ever that they find Harry.

"There's one other thing I'd like to try," Ron said. "I want you to throw the paper balls at the map, trying to get it in that particular area and I'll lie down and see if I can gauge things from Snape's perspective, poor bugger."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed primly.

"Well, he is," Ron retorted unrepentantly.

"Go ahead, Mr. Weasley," instructed Albus, and Ron spread his lanky frame over the office floor. "I'll aim the...er missiles while you get comfortable." He flicked his wand and the tiny white balls of paper turned into shimmering drops of water that returned to their paper state as they landed on the map. "What do you think, Mr. Weasley – any improvement?"

"I presume Snape...I mean _Professor_ Snape blacked out before they made the actual decision where to go on their 'hunting expedition'." Ron sat up. "I've already said that the memories don't show anything more helpful."

"Ron!" Hermione scowled at the red-headed man on the floor. "Professor Snape is lucky to be alive. Concentrate on what you are doing and we both might manage to be of some help to him."

"Alright, Hermione, keep your hair on. I was concentrating" He pulled himself up and assessed their results. "Still leaves us an awful lot of Scotland to search through."

"Better than _all_ of Scotland and a large portion of Northern England, which is what we were looking at before," gritted Moody. "Albus – what do you want us to do?"

"We dispatch Order members to search woodland areas In Aberdeenshire and Moray." The headmaster looked troubled. "You do realise that we still might not recover Harry."

"And Ginny," interrupted Ron. "I'm sure Harry will know where she is."

"Alas, there's no guarantee of that, either. We do not have proof that they are together although I agree that it is likely. Wherever they are, together or apart, with the return of Voldemort they are in grave danger." Dumbledore took one last look at the map and with a wave of his wand, the desk was returned. "Alastor, if you could contact Hestia, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Bill Weasley and Dedalus Diggle for me please. Explain what we would like them to do. We cannot spare any more of the Order at the moment. It would be noted by certain parties and draw unnecessary attention to bear upon our activities."

"Will do," Moody said gruffly and stomped from the room.

"Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley – thank you for your help. It has truly been invaluable."

"Isn't there anything else we could do?" asked Hermione anxiously. "We could help the Order look for Harry. I have annual leave to take and..."

"You do more good, Miss Granger, by remaining in your current post. It's not what your heart desires but we value what you do. If you could continue to monitor both the wizarding and the Muggle Press for anything unusual."

"Th...thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Hermione gushed. "That means more to me than I can say."

"I could go with Bill," offered Ron. "I'm Harry's best friend. I used to know what he thought...at least..." His face fell. "I thought I did."

Dumbledore considered the young man. Ron was still immature on occasions but was, in his opinion, finally growing up. Bill would make sure he didn't do anything foolish. "I will speak to your brother, Mr. Weasley, and ask him if he will let you accompany him. But remember, you must keep this operation completely quiet. There can be no slipping of information to anyone no matter how angry they may make you."

Ron straightened himself proudly. "I give my word as a wizard."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

28


	28. Chapter 28

**The Unbreakable Vow 28**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.**

**As always my thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

**Malfoy Manor**

The oak-cased grandfather clock chimed softly as Lucius Malfoy cautiously entered the darkened guest-bedchamber, his eyes seeking the sleeping figure in the imposing four-poster bed. He stiffened his spine, pushing the fear from his face. Being once more in the presence of his master filled him with fear and awe. Not to feel fear in the presence of such greatness would be foolish indeed.

His master had been returned to them once more via the unwilling sacrifice of his traitorous former colleague, Severus Snape. The Potions Master had been taken away to die and nothing more had been seen or heard of him. It was a waste of a good wizard. Severus had been a half-blood but held a talent and devotion for his craft as a Potions Master. Pity he had to be tainted by his traitorous association with the meddling fool, Albus Dumbledore. Still, Severus' sacrifice had been instrumental in the Dark Lord's rebirth – the betrayer had more than paid for his crimes.

As he moved soundlessly further into the room, the sconces on the wall burst into light. Swallowing nervously, the Malfoy patriarch approached the bed. Opening his mouth to gently rouse his supine master he found himself jerking back as a sibilant hiss came from just above his head. His master's familiar, Nagini, wound around one the bedposts, hissed lazily at him, her tongue flickering.

He bowed his blond head respectfully towards the snake. The Dark Lord would punish him if he treated his familiar with rudeness. The unsettling ability to converse with snakes in parseltongue unnerved Lucius even though his family crest contained the form of a serpent.

"My...my...Lord," he said hesitantly, hating the way his voice trembled. Malfoys should not show such fear. "My Lord..." He opened his hand and laid down several vials of potion on the bedside table. "To regain your strength fully, you must take these."

Since his rebirth, the most powerful dark wizard ever to walk the earth had been in a semi-comatose state for much of the time and had been slow to regain his strength. The blood of a Snape had not been as potent as that belonging to Harry Potter.

Voldemort opened his red eyes. "If I had wanted you to play nursemaid, Lucius, I would have summoned you," he hissed malevolently. "Leave me or be prepared to suffer the consequences."

"But my Lord," pleaded Malfoy. "Your healer...?"

"Lord Voldemort does not need a healer," snapped the Dark Lord with surprising strength. "Nor does he consume potions concocted by a traitor."

"We would never..." Lucius began.

"What is today's date?" snapped Voldemort.

"My Lord?"

"The date, Lucius. I grow weary of this – you cannot fool me."

"December the tenth," the blond aristocrat said quietly.

The dark wizard nodded slowly. He guessed that he'd been in this bed for over a month although the time since his return was hazy. For the first time since he'd reacquired a corporeal form, he felt much of his old awareness and strength return to him. What he'd discovered had not pleased him. The wizarding world was still run by Muggle-loving fools and his followers were fighting amongst themselves.

"Snape is dead," Lucius said flatly. "These potions were made by my son, Draco, my Lord," he added quickly. "He is most talented in this area and further study with a suitable master could easily match and perhaps even surpass Snape's skill. You are weak since your rebirth..."

"Silence!" ordered Voldemort. "The Dark Lord is not weak. Lord Voldemort is never weak."

Again Nagini hissed threateningly from her perch as Lucius retreated several steps backwards in his nervousness.

"I never meant to suggest..." Malfoy backed away a couple of steps and took a deep breath. "Of course, my Lord. I will leave you to rest, my Lord," he said, bowing. He left the carefully labelled potions vials on the bedside table knowing that they would be empty when he returned.

"Lucius..." The voice was threadlike.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"What of my enemies?" The dark wizard rose carefully to a seated position. This was something he was most interested to know. He'd risked using one of the darkest curses in existence, tapping into the core of his own power to weaken the boy. He was probably the only wizard alive that could have successfully cast the _Magisiphonoux _hex. He _was_ the only wizard who would have dared.

And as for the recipient, the effects were not immediate but the symptoms progressed rapidly. Harry Potter would have been turned into a worthless squib. But the spell had come at a price for its caster. When the boy had attempted the _Avada Kedavra_ - which normally wouldn't have worked as the boy lacked the intent to kill – it had, to Voldemort's horror, reduced him to a spirit without a body once more. It had taken five frustrating years before the damage had been rectified.

"We kept your return a secret, my Lord," breathed Malfoy. "Only the most trusted of the 'Inner Circle' know that you are with us once more. Your enemies have no knowledge..."

Voldemort gracefully raised a pale, skeletal wrist. "But..." he drawled.

Malfoy hesitated. "Ah..."

His master gave a sinister chuckle. "I can read you more easily than a Muggle children's book, Lucius. I can divine your thoughts whenever I want to. Now, tell me."

Malfoy turned his gaze from the escape of the bedchamber door. "Dumbledore's Order is suspicious. The disappearance of Severus will have alerted them and I suspect the old man has already had words with the Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, my Lord."

"So this secrecy kept by the inner circle is a myth," sneered Voldemort, angered at the thought of Scrimgeour, an Auror with a fanatical hatred of the Death Eaters, as the Minister for Magic. At least Cornelius Fudge had been easy to control.

"Snape was a spy for Dumbledore. When he failed to contact the Order they would have suspected his discovery. None of us would betray you..." Lucius began unctuously.

"Yet you did. All of you betrayed me when you left me as a disembodied spirit for five years." The Dark Lord waved his hand dismissively. "The point is moot. What of Potter? Surely he would have felt my return?" How much did Malfoy know about Potter's magic-less fate, he wondered? "I cannot yet sense him the way I could before. I cannot let him see what I want him to see."

Malfoy frowned. "P...P...Potter, my Lord?" His voice held astonishment. "The reason you cannot sense him is because Potter hasn't been seen or heard of for over five years – not a single sighting."

"And you didn't think to tell me this sooner?" the Dark Lord snarled angrily, yet pleased at the news. The curse had obviously been successful – if it hadn't needed so much power it would have been a regular weapon in his arsenal. Harry Potter could not function in the wizarding world as a squib. He would surely meet his end if they faced each other once more. And they would meet again. He knew that without having any particular skills in the doubtful art of Divination. He would find the half-blooded squib and kill him in the most public manner possible. He would rule the wizarding world unchallenged after that.

Lucius couldn't understand his master's continued fixation on Harry Potter. There was admittedly a prophecy about the dark lord and the boy but they'd been unable to retrieve it. Surely his master couldn't be afraid of a pathetic half-blood?

"None of my faithful followers had the foresight to let me know, Lucius? Of course not."

"You've been ill, my Lord. We did not want to burden you with such trifling matters," Lucius appeased carefully.

"Nothing to do with Harry Potter is trifling to me, Lucius," Voldemort warned. "I will kill him to show the wizarding world that he has never been anything but an insignificant boy."

It galled Lucius to admit this even to himself. "My liege, it is thought that Potter may even be dead. The Order of the Phoenix, masquerading behind the Ministry of Magic, reported that Potter had been sent to a top-secret location for training." He laughed disdainfully. "They lie. They are searching for his location as diligently as we are."

"He is not dead." Voldemort was certain.

"We do not think so," admitted the blond wizard. "But there is some doubt."

"No, he is not dead – but he may be incapacitated," Voldemort murmured, a tinge of satisfaction colouring his voice. He would not believe the brat was dead until he stood over his broken body after having delivered the _Avada Kedavra_. He cast his mind back to the day of his temporary defeat, remembering he'd been about to _Avada_ the boy but the young man had surprised him and turned the spell on him first. He glared up at Malfoy, his red eyes glittering impatiently. "Oh, for Salazar's sake! Leave me," the Dark Lord ordered. "I have much to think on. Keep searching for the boy. He cannot hide from us forever. When we find him I will kill him. He is weak and no match for the power of Lord Voldemort."

Lucius bowed again and swiftly removed himself from the bedchamber, glad to have avoided the customary unforgiveable curse. His master, powerful wizard though he was, had actually got something wrong. Harry Potter, like his own son, Draco, was not a boy any longer. Yet, it didn't solve the problem that they had absolutely no idea where Potter was and, according to his sources in the Ministry, neither did Albus Dumbledore.

Lucius moved carefully down the grand staircase, his eyes avoiding the portraits gracing the walls. Using the traitor Snape's blood had restored their master to them once again but he was not what he once was. It had been nearly two months and he was still unable to leave his bedchamber for any length of time.

"How is he?" one of the newer members of the Dark Lord's ranks asked carelessly.

"Gaining his strength rapidly," shot back Lucius quellingly at the younger man.

"Oh, come on," dismissed the wizard. "We've been here for three weeks and not once has he called us to his presence."

"You should be glad he did not call you," Lucius sneered. "Your current attitude will make sure that the Dark Lord removes you from his service...permanently. I am sure I can have it arranged."

"My potions have made a difference?" drawled a voice from the corner of the drawing room. "I knew that they would."

Lucius let his grey gaze rest approvingly upon his tall, handsome son, currently lounging in a comfortable dark-green leather chair. "Indeed, Draco." He then let his eyes deliberately drift over the dark-haired young woman by his son's side making her fidget nervously. "Good evening, Miss Parkinson," he said coldly.

The young woman gave a nervous giggle and glanced at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy," she said politely.

Pansy Parkinson had been one of his son's first playmates. Without a doubt, she had also been Draco's first sexual conquest. That she was still his son's favourite mistress came as no surprise to Lucius. If it hadn't been for his foolish reaction to the Dark Lord's second destruction – he should have known that his master wouldn't desert them – to affiance his son to the Weasley chit, Draco might well have been married to Miss Parkinson by now. She was a pureblood – her father was one of the Dark Lord's supporters – and, now that she had grown into her unfortunate nose, wasn't unpleasant to look at.

"I was taught by the best even if he was a traitor," drawled Draco.

A soft chiming sound was heard ringing through the room. "Someone has just passed through the wards," murmured Pansy in alarm.

Draco shrugged, unperturbed at the sound. "The visitors are not hostile to us. Believe me, Pans, we would have known if Dumbledore had suddenly shown up." He stretched out his hand and with a soft shriek, she tumbled onto his lap. The young wizard smirked at the witch in his arms and lowered his head, capturing her lush mouth in a passionate kiss. "Pans...what say you that we take this elsewhere?"

Pansy's eyes tracked nervously to the elder Malfoy. For some reason Draco had begun to test his relationship with his father and one of the easiest ways was through his relationship with her. He had never been so bold before and she could tell that the elder Malfoy disapproved. She refused to become a bone of contention between Draco and his father even if she did love the bastard. "Draco..."

Lucius glared at the couple and was about to utter a scathing remark on the inappropriateness of their behaviour when the drawing room door opened. "Behave, Draco," he hissed. "We have company of a sort."

Two wizards still dressed in heavy travelling cloaks entered the Malfoy drawing room. "Mulciber...Carrow," Lucius drawled, imperceptibly relaxing his grip on his wand. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company tonight?" He clicked his fingers and a cowed-looking house elf took the cloaks from the two wizards.

Perronus Mulciber was a shifty-looking little man – clever and vicious with a strong dislike of those of lesser blood, matched by his companion, Amycus Carrow. Anyone who failed to live up to their pureblood genetic ideals was an enemy or a lesser being to be enslaved. "Just paying my respects to the Dark Lord," he said quickly, jerking his head upwards to where he assumed his master was. "Is he recovering?"

"Yes." Lucius' shoulders drooped for a moment before he stiffened and turned his attention once more to bear on his son. "Our Master will be joining us later for dinner." A husky giggle interrupted his words and he swivelled on the balls of his feet to face the amorous couple in the corner. "Draco! Could you and Miss Parkinson possibly..." he sneered, "do that somewhere else?"

"This is my home, Father," Draco shot back. "And I want Pansy with me. She can at least, unlike some wizards, hold a decent conversation. End of story." He was referring to Crabbe and Goyle senior _and_ junior and Lucius knew it.

"_Miss_ Parkinson..." It was clear the title bestowed was not a courtesy. "...is not your betrothed."

Draco put Pansy off his lap and stalked towards his father. "And whose fault was that? Pansy and I would have been married a long time ago if you hadn't become afraid for your own skin. My supposed betrothed ran away rather than go through with the marriage to me. But then, what do you expect from a filthy blood-traitor. Why did you think that she really was a suitable candidate for a Malfoy bride or can't you tell me with your..._friends_ listening?"

"Not now, Draco," Lucius bit out between clenched teeth.

"If I want to shag Pansy on the dining table in full view of the dinner guests I will do so," snapped Draco, standing to nose to nose with his father.

Pansy gave an anguished little moan. Their continued antagonism to one another hurt any chances she still had of becoming the next Malfoy bride and she'd not given up hope on that yet. Swiftly she moved to ameliorate the situation. "You promised me, Draco," she pleaded softly, "that you wouldn't upset your father tonight. Please."

Carrow gave an amused chuckle, his expression intent on Pansy's curvaceous figure which was revealed by her flimsy cocktail dress. He turned away, pouring himself and Mulciber a large firewhisky each. "That I would like to see."

Lucius' wand flew into his hand and pointed directly between Carrow's eyes. "You dare to show such disrespect to my house? Any more of such filth and I will hex you where you stand."

Carrow's lips curled. "I'd like to see you try. Your son was doing all the disrespecting himself by wanting to shag on your dining table. It's not as if we haven't had such 'entertainment' at our revels before."

Lucius gave a short burst of derisive laughter. "There will never be such entertainment as Malfoy Manor - not while I am head of the family. My wife is here and I will not have her upset by your ill-bred crudeness. I can take you in a duel any time, Amycus, and don't you forget it." He looked around at the other men, all of them trying to appear as if they'd not been avidly listening to the spat taking place. "I'm certain that the rest of you can meaningfully occupy your time until we return – but not by 'shagging' as you so rudely put it on the Malfoy dining table." He replaced his wand in the wrist holster he used in the house and mockingly ushered the two men towards the door. "Amycus, Perronus, my study, and Draco...I suggest you find something more profitable to do before dinner."

Draco's mouth worked into a sneer that matched his father's. "Come on, Pansy. Let's go and visit Mother and then I have Potions to brew for our Lord. You can help me chop." He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "We'll be in the lab and don't want to be disturbed." He clasped the dark-haired witch's hand firmly and sauntered straight past his father and out of the room with a sardonic, "excuse us."

Lucius lips firmed with annoyance at his son's departing figure. If the Weasley girl hadn't run off moments before the wedding, Draco would have been married with an heir by now – possibly more, as the one thing that blood-traitor family had in their favour was the ability to have as many brats as they wanted. But no, Draco had to waste his time with Parkinson's daughter. He conveniently forgot that when Draco was born, an alliance between him and Pansy had been actively sought. But Draco had now been contracted to wed Ginevra Weasley and when they found her that was exactly what would happen. He never for one moment considered that she might not be alive. When they found her she would marry Draco whether she wanted to or not and then they would decide how long she would live for the embarrassment she had caused the family.

"You know the way, gentlemen," he snapped.

Carrow and Mulciber were not as favoured in the eyes of their master and knew it. Lucius Malfoy's orders had to be obeyed. He was not going to be happy with the news they had to give him.

The study door closed behind them as Lucius gave a quick flick of his wand and scrutinised their faces. They appeared to be unusually nervous, for some reason and then he knew what it was. "Well," he demanded. "I take it that you've finally found the body and disposed of it?"

Mulciber shifted nervously in his seat. "That's what we wanted to talk to you about." He mumbled something very quickly under his breath.

Lucius narrowed cold grey eyes. He could almost smell their fear. "_What!_ There was no body! You _still_ haven't located Snape's body after all this time? Are you even looking in the right place? Why couldn't you have told me this sooner? It's been nearly six weeks..."

"You were away on business," Mulciber snarled. "We've combed every inch of that wood," he added, sudden desperation on his face. "Every single bloody inch of it and not a single hair from Snape's greasy little head did we find."

"Aye, 'cos if we had, we could have killed a squib and polyjuiced the body to look like old Severus." Carrow scowled. "We're certain that it was the right place and before you ask we checked and rechecked. I was reduced to thrashing through the undergrowth like a damn Muggle without success every other day. He was dead for sure when we left him. We were going to go back for the body the next day. We couldn't wait for him to rattle out his last breath..."

Lucius reached for his brandy decanter with hands that unexpectedly shook. Salazar's breath! This did not look good at all. If the Potions Master was still alive... "Had his heart stopped beating... was he still breathing? Did you even verify that fact?"

Mulciber wriggled uneasily in his seat. "Well..."

"You just left him and assumed that he'd expire on his own."

"He was taking an age to depart this life and I had to take my wife to her mother's," explained Mulciber. "It was logical to collect the body the following day."

Lucius couldn't believe the idiocy of the two wizards. "Severus Snape was a very stubborn man in life and made it a point never to be obliging to his enemies. I never assumed that he'd be easy to kill. Perhaps, he still _is_ a very stubborn man."

"He has to be dead," Carrow argued. "He _has _to be."

"Does he?" asked Lucius snidely.

"Of course he does. No one could have lingered after what he'd been through – not even Severus. He was _crucio'd_ even longer than the Longbottoms were. They're still in St. Mungos after twenty years."

"But they're alive," interrupted Malfoy.

"They're gibbering idiots," snapped Carrow.

Malfoy had his own opinion on who were the idiots.

"You let Crabbe and Goyle pulverise him to the point that he fell unconscious," accused Mulciber. "He was losing blood rapidly from the removal of the dark mark from his arm. We left him bleeding and unconscious in the middle of a bloody wood in almost freezing temperatures. Who could survive that?"

"You don't know the real Severus Snape," Lucius muttered grimly before tossing back his glass of brandy. "Hell, none of us did apart from Bellatrix. But then, she's insane enough to be suspicious of everyone. She thought he was too close to Dumbledore. Snape would survive just to spoil all our plans – not that he can do much against the might of our Lord." Lucius felt as angry as he'd ever been. Mulciber and Carrow should have known not to be so careless. "What if he was picked up by someone?"

"Who would do that? That wood wasn't near any homes or settlements – Magical or Muggle. That was one of the reasons we selected it." Mulciber took a large swallow of his fire whisky.

"Muggles often walk in woodland, I've heard," declared Carrow.

"So do Centaurs, acromantulas, elves and oh, perhaps, wizards." Lucius was barely holding onto his temper. He had left before the assault on Severus had become too brutal but the Dark Lord didn't always lay the blame where he should.

"Perhaps a Muggle found the body," offered Mulciber with a smirk.

"Maybe he just stood up and flew away," gibed Lucius.

Mulciber clenched his fist around his wand. "Don't be ridiculous, Malfoy. Snape was not a bird animagus."

"You have the nerve to call me 'ridiculous'?" Ice dripped from every word the blond wizard uttered.

"So Mulciber, when are we going to hear in the Muggle news about a dead man wrapped in an invisibility cloak being found in an area of woodland about twenty miles south of Elgin," bit out Amycus viciously. "If he had been found we would have heard about it. Salazar! We were so stupid and the Dark Lord will have us subjected to all the unforgivables, done one after the other until we are totally insane."

"Is that where it was - ?" Lucius poured himself another brandy and sipped this one more slowly. "Near Elgin?" He shrugged dismissively. "Never been there."

"Elgin is the biggest Muggle settlement in that area, yes." Mulciber took a swig of his fire whisky. "They used to drown witches there."

"Your point being?" asked Lucius coldly. "That piece of information is hardly likely to make me want to visit." He waved his wand at his desk and it morphed magically into a large three dimensional map of the British Isles. The area around the Moray coast lit up.

"Just a point of interest," muttered Mulciber. "It's not important."

"I'm not interested. But..." Lucius straightened up. "If anyone was found in that area it _would_ have hit the local Muggle press, would it not?"

Carrow began grinning. "It would or..." The grin widened even further. "What about Muggle Aurors? Wouldn't they know about missing persons?"

"If it was London, for instance," stated Mulciber, "no one would really take notice of a missing person. The place is too big and it happens all the time – or so people think. But in a small town they might pay more attention - especially if a body was found. Thank you, Lucius. We do know where to start looking."

"You two half-wits better get finding things out quickly. Wipe those inane grins from your faces. You've nothing to laugh about until you locate Snape's, hopefully dead, body. Did you visit the Muggle Aurors or refer to whatever worthless rag Muggles read in that part of Scotland? Be careful how you deal with the Muggles, we do not want to draw attention to ourselves and the Ministry obbliviators." Lucius took their crestfallen expressions as an answer. "We cannot keep this from our Lord indefinitely. He will find out and he will not be pleased." Lucius frowned. The Dark Lord 'not being pleased' was something of an understatement and not something they wanted to experience more than they absolutely had to. "While he's still recuperating we will find out what happened to Severus Snape and prepare our reports accordingly."

"Could Dumbledore's Order of the flaming Turkey have picked him up?" wondered Carrow.

Lucius considered the question. "Yes, there's a slight possibility of that happening. They would be concerned for the fate of their spy. I know Dumbledore was fond of Severus. However, we made absolutely certain that all port keys were removed from the body of the victim prior to torture. We could have missed one but I doubt it. He could not return to them via that method. So on reflection, it is an unlikely scenario."

"Yaxley's son...Herbert?" Mulciber said thoughtfully. "He's still at Hogwarts, isn't he?"

"Seventh year Slytherin," said Lucius. "Why?"

"Tell him to nose around the hospital wing. If Snape is alive and at Hogwarts, he will need medical assistance. He does know that his head of house is a traitor to our cause?"

"Letters have been sent to the appropriate children," answered Lucius, a self-satisfied sneer gracing his handsome features.

Carrow smirked in return. "I'll tell Yaxley to contact young Herbert."

Lucius pushed his chair back and stood up. "Let us hope that the Dark Lord is not up to Legilimency this evening or you will be experiencing my son's first attempt at a post-cruciatus Potion. He's been a little distracted by Miss Parkinson this evening but I'm sure that will not affect his brewing skills."

Carrow and Mulciber audibly gulped.

Lucius' smile was wolfish. "I would suggest that you practice occluding your minds tonight or we'll be repeating the 'hunt' for your benefit instead of Snape's."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Christmas was only two weeks away when the Order of the Phoenix next met. The past month had proved to be fruitless in the search for Harry. But the witches and wizards appointed by Dumbledore continued to doggedly search the woodlands of Grampian for any hint that magic might have been performed there. So far, they'd found nothing.

Severus Snape continued to slowly recover from his near death experience in hidden isolation but it would be many months before he would resume his menacing stride about Hogwarts with his customary grace.

"We have alerted many of our less active Order members to keep an eye out for anyone resembling Harry," Dumbledore said with a smile. There were wizards sympathetic to the side of the light in various parts of the country who kept an eye out for anything unusual happening.

Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and Dovetown were the main wizarding centres in the country but there were also minor branches of Gringotts in places like Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.

"We can trust them?" demanded Moody, his normal paranoia asserting itself.

"Of course. They know very little. Thwaites in Manchester is a good man..."

"I know him," said Moody. "Class above me at Hogwarts."

"Then there's Anderson in Aberdeen and Singh in Birmingham."

Moody gave an approving grunt. "Good men both."

"It's highly unlikely that Harry would know of the existence of these places," Dumbledore admitted. "But it's better to be prepared in any case."

"Any actual news of Harry?" asked Remus. It was killing him to have no more news of Harry especially when they now had a genuine reason to believe he was alive and well. Snape's memory was the nearest thing they had to an actual sighting. Even though the Potions Master had been close to death, the werewolf believed that Severus had seen Harry.

"I'm afraid not but we do have some good news as Severus has finally been released from the Infirmary," beamed the headmaster. "However, he will not be returning to his position as head of Slytherin House for some time. Minerva and I felt that we were placing a great strain on Severus as he would be caring for many of the children belonging to his old associates."

Professor McGonagall gave the assembled witches and wizards a strained smile. "It's the best thing for his safety."

"They all think that he's dead," declared Hermione.

"Of course they do," the headmaster answered. "That is, for the moment they do – both his friends and his enemies. It will keep him safe until the truth of his continued existence cannot be hidden any longer. I have asked far too much from Severus over the years and should let him exist for now without the worry and the danger. He will have to live for a time as a dead man."

"Not if he's noticed striding around the corridors and he's actually solid flesh and bone," murmured Ron. "It kinda gives the game away – even if most of my friends thought he was already one of the fanged bloodsuckers."

"Professor Snape can't return to teaching Potions, Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said quietly. "He can't remain in Hogwarts - not if he's supposed to be dead."

"That never stopped Binns," muttered Ron. "He never even noticed that he was dead!" His face suddenly brightened. "Hey! Snape could pretend to be a ghost and still teach Potions."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think that would work. So what will happen to him – Professor Snape, that is?" Hermione found that she pitied the man. "He can't return to his spying duties, nor can he teach."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I must admit that I had considered it, Miss Granger – the ghost theory. But Potions is primarily a practical subject and would be nigh on impossible to be ghost-led. I also feel that Severus would find it difficult to act in the correct manner. He won't be teaching at the moment – he isn't yet fit enough. I have discussed it with him and although he is unhappy at the prospect of 'abandoning his Slytherins', as he put it, he does understand. We will inveigle Horace Slughorn back to deputise for Severus until he has recovered fully. He will also act as Slytherin head of house."

"Not all Slytherins are followers of You-know-who, Albus," said Professor McGonagall stiffly.

"Of course not, Minerva, but alas, I have to unfortunately say that we do have one or two students with questionable loyalties."

"Loyalties can change if the student is given the chance," said the transfiguration professor softly. "Think of Severus."

Moody spoke up, his voice gruff. "We are presently upping the specifications of the potions lab in the cellar at Grimmauld Place. Professor Snape will move there once he has completed his recovery and will brew healing Potions for the Order and Wolfsbane for Mr. Lupin."

"That will be a relief for Remus," agreed Hermione. "But I cannot see Professor Snape being happy with that arrangement for very long."

Ron scowled. "Sirius hated it and you did the same thing to Harry and look what happened to him. I don't like Snape but I sure couldn't have done what he did, spying against You-know-who. Rewarding him by imprisoning him in Grimmauld place is...unkind."

Moody snorted. "Snape's an adult and knew what he was getting into when he agreed to spy for the Order."

Bill Weasley shook his head. "You're being very unfair to Severus, Mad-Eye. We cannot keep him locked away. I don't think he did know what he was getting himself into. I don't think _any of us_ knew what we were getting ourselves into and we weren't spying against the...V...Voldemort. I never took Divination..."

"It's a very woolly discipline," muttered Minerva under her breath.

"Voldemort believes the prophecy," stated Dumbledore with a sharp look at his deputy. "He went after Harry because of it and the rest is history. He will not stop until he has destroyed the boy." He steepled his long fingers together. "Severus will not be kept a prisoner and I guarantee he will enjoy his recovery doing research. He will be free to leave if he wants to."

"That's more than you were willing to grant Harry," threw in Fred bitterly.

Dumbledore paused and glanced at the young man. He had no way of proving it but he suspected that Fred and George Weasley knew far more about Harry's disappearance than they'd let on. "It will be some time before Severus is able to do very much. Now, tell me, how has our search been going?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt threw up his hands in defeat. "We have found no trace of him so far. No hint that magic has been performed by Harry as far as the Ministry records are concerned. We have scanned from Aberdeen westwards."

"We need more manpower, Albus," declared Moody. "I know you don't have any to spare but that's the bottom line. There's too much country to cover properly."

"The Ministry watches us," said Tonks. "There would be an uproar if they found out that Harry's been hiding from us – although I'm not sure anyone is buying the 'he's away for extra training' story. Kingsley and I can only get away on our days off. I agree that it's not enough but we want to see Harry safe."

"Scrimgeour is aware of the Snape-Voldemort situation," said Dumbledore. "He was reluctant to believe me at first but he is far more reasonable than Fudge. But there are spies at the Ministry just waiting for their chance to augment discord – even Rufus has to be careful. We cannot risk the information on our search for Harry coming to light. You are right to be cautious, Nymphadora."

Tonks scowled at the sound of her hated first name.

"Harry will hopefully know that Voldemort has returned," said Hestia Jones.

"I would expect so," murmured the headmaster. "He is still connected to Voldemort through his scar but there is no guarantee. Still, it was Harry that found Severus. He would likely guess what had happened to his former professor from his wounds."

"Why doesn't he come back to us?" asked Hermione sadly.

"He will when the time is right," answered Dumbledore. "Harry has never let us down before and he will not do it now."

Fred and George glanced at one another. They'd been uncharacteristically silent at this Order meeting, worried that they might give Harry away. Harry, Ginny and Jamie couldn't be found – not yet. They weren't prepared for returning to wizarding life with all it entailed. They'd been amazed at the existence of their nephew and after shouting at Harry for ten minutes straight, had forgiven Harry and Ginny for keeping the secret. The idea that Harry's scar linked him to the dark wizard worried them not just for Harry's sake. There was now Ginny and, of course, Jamie to consider.

Fred cleared his throat and glared at the ancient mage. "What makes you so sure?"

"I know Harry, Mr. Weasley."

"If you'd known him so well, you would never have treated him so badly," Fred said forthrightly.

"Fred!" warned Bill and George at the same time.

"I wasn't going to say anything else," muttered Fred in an undertone. "I'm not Ron."

Dumbledore frowned and peered at the three elder Weasley brothers. This was the second time that Fred had criticised Harry's treatment. "Is there anything you would care to share with us?"

"No," said Bill shortly. "Let's get back to finding Harry before Voldemort does."

George gave Bill a round of applause. "Impressive, William. I never thought you had it in you."

"It's just a name," growled Bill. "And a damn stupid one at that."

_xxxxx_

_**Three days earlier**_

"Why?" asked George, after he'd finally run out of steam.

"We wanted your Mum to be the first to know about Jamie," Harry had explained softly. "It was her right."

"What about Ron and Hermione?"

"Soon," he whispered. "Soon. When the time is right. Remus also needs to know but I have plans for that."

"What about Dumbledore?"

"When everyone else finds out. Then he'll know," Harry said, a bitter twist to his mouth. "I know he's thinking of the 'bigger picture' or as he terms it, 'the greater good'. But it's hard to see that when it's my life he's mucking up."

But time had continued to pass and Dumbledore had called another Order meeting. It was obvious to Bill that Harry was no closer to revealing himself to the Order.

Yes, they all thought that the marriage contract was worthless and the goblins had confirmed that the magic held within the parchment had somehow bled away over time and the strength of Harry and Ginny's bond with one another had been the cause.

The Malfoy contract was worthless and obsolete.

However, they hadn't yet informed Dumbledore of that nugget of information and the Potters remained firmly in hiding. Harry and Ginny liked their new anonymity and it gave them a bargaining chip to hold. In a strange way, Harry had achieved what his Aunt Petunia had not – that happy family life.

"It's all for Jamie," Ginny had said. "He's our everything and we're not leaving him the way Harry's parents had to leave him."

"We don't have someone like Pettigrew," said Harry. "But Mundungus Fletcher is trusted with a lot of Order business and I have little confidence in him."

"No one really trusts Fletcher," Bill had said quietly, "and how do you know we don't have a Pettigrew? I hate to remind you that your parents thought he was trustworthy enough to make him their secret keeper."

Harry's face showed his dismay. "How could I be so arrogant and think that I know any better than my parents did back then?" He rubbed his hands across face and then stared directly at Bill. "I don't know better but I'm praying that Ginny and I have better friends than my parents did who won't blab our whereabouts to the first Death Eater to cross their path."

Fred had clapped Harry comfortingly on the shoulder. "Not even Percy, the git, would betray you to Voldemort."

"He nearly did by offering to Ginny to Malfoy," Harry retorted. "That was as good as handing her to him. He's completely witless. How could he have fallen for their tricks?"

"We'll wait a little while longer," Ginny stated decisively, with a calming hand placed on her husband's shoulder ready to prevent any diatribe about Percy flowing from his lips. "It's for the best."

George smiled at his sister's successful attempts to calm her husband. Percy was a subject best left for another time. "So," he rubbed his hands together. "You're going after Remus next."

Harry's green eyes narrowed momentarily before relaxing. "Yes. I want to see him. He's the only Marauder left and I miss him."

"He's missed you, too, if it's any help," said Bill softly.

"It is." Harry's eyes were suspiciously misty. "But I couldn't tell him and he couldn't come with us. The Ministry are hard enough on werewolves as it is."

"We are going to get the goblins to petition the Ministry on your behalf, Harry. It is time that this sham of a marriage contract is overturned. It will be interesting to see how people react to that piece of information."

"I can already guess at the outcome," Harry said dryly. "You'd maybe better get the goblins to find us a good lawyer, too. I'll probably need to sue _The Daily Prophet_."

"You don't need a lawyer," stated Bill. "The contract is worthless. The Ministry have to see that."

"Maybe so. But perhaps Ginny and I would like our own contract written up. We have a son and another child on the way. I want them protected to the greatest extent that magical law can manage. I never want scum like Malfoy anywhere near my wife and children ever again."

xxxxx

_**Present time**_

"Is there a problem?" Dumbledore's voice intruded into the twins' silent communication with their eldest brother. "You have all been very quiet until now."

Fred blinked, then glanced atRemus before shaking his head wildly. "No, no problem."

Dumbledore paused. "Are you sure? I was about to ask how your communication devices were coming along?"

Guessing that he had to get the headmaster's attention away from their atypical behaviour, George sat up and beamed at the Order members present in the room. "We are very close," he boasted proudly. "Our latest devices, based on Hermione's 'mobile fun', are in the final testing stage."

"It's a 'phone'," Hermione interrupted wearily. "A telephone, to be exact."

"We think our version is better, Hermione," Fred said grinning. "It won't be 'fun' for our enemies."

"Especially if we can get the random dialling firework to work properly."

"You're rigging the phones to explode?" breathed Tonks, a large grin forming on her lips.

"Well..." Fred's eyes tracked to George's and away again. "It seems to be a by-product of our current research."

"Poppy was very glad to see both of you in the infirmary last week." Fleur's mouth twisted up in an amused smirk. "She said that it was very like old times."

"Once we fine tune everything, then there will be a 'fun' for all Order members," Fred said, all joking gone.

"It could work more discretely than a Patronus." George grinned at a concerned-looking Bill.

"How so?" Dumbledore was genuinely interested. The Weasley twins were brilliant innovators.

"A Patronus is a highly visible way of sending a message. Our 'fun' is very effective, virtually undetectable and almost as quick as a Patronus." Fred smirked happily. They had managed to divert a suspicious Dumbledore's interest away from anything they may or may not know about Harry. "And Muggles can rig their 'funs' to vibrate." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Minerva McGonagall's lips twitched.

"Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said. "This may be nothing but...well, the coincidence makes me think it's worth taking a look at."

"Go on, Miss Granger," encouraged Dumbledore with a smile.

"If it's a red herring..."

"Why would it be a fish?" asked Ron. "Why are we suddenly talking about fish?"

Hermione sighed. She hated being interrupted. "'A red herring' is a Muggle saying, Ronald," she explained. "It distracts you from what you really want to know or find."

"Oh, okay. I understand." Ron grinned at Tonks. Muggles were confusing. "You mean a purple hippogriff."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Why I am surprised, I don't really know. I should have expected something like that – a purple hippogriff indeed. I've been checking back over local newspapers in the area highlighted by our search and... Read it for yourself." Hermione passed out several pieces of paper to the Order members present. "It's a small piece from a paper called, 'The Press and Journal'. I almost missed it because it was tucked away in a tiny column on the inside pages. It intrigued me, so I did some further research. That particular area also has a weekly paper. It's mainly adverts and birth/death announcements – that sort of thing..."

"Hermione," said Remus gently. "You're straying off topic."

"Oh, sorry," she flushed. "Anyway...this story made the front page. There was a Muggle witness and a man badly injured..."

Minerva McGonagall was the first to scan the paragraphs. "And you think this is significant, Hermione? I am sorry for the Muggle who crashed his car into the tree but that surely wasn't because of wizarding interference."

"Yes, I do think that it was," the girl answered firmly. "If it was merely anti-social teenagers setting off fireworks it's easy to prove and we won't have lost very much time but, Professor McGonagall, everything fits. The date, the time, the location – everything matches the time Snape disappeared to when he turned up at Hogwarts. When does V...Voldemort like to act apart from the end of the school year? Halloween, of course." She waved her wand and parchment maps appeared in front of everyone. "It's miles from anywhere and well, I was never one of what the Muggle media would term the 'disaffected youth' but..." She looked around the table. "They would have been drinking and it's miles from a pub. There are a couple of solitary houses and some farms. Why pick a completely deserted road which sees little traffic to fire rockets across? I think the fact that someone got hurt is pure chance."

"Tell that to Severus Snape," muttered Lupin.

Moody's magical eye spun wildly in its socket for a minute or two. "She's right, you know. It's the first real lead we've had since Snape was port-keyed in."

"I think we should investigate further," agreed Hestia. "What harm can it do?"

Dumbledore smiled warmly as excited chatter erupted around him. "It can do no harm at all. Well done, Miss Granger."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks. If it brings Harry home to us, then everything is worth it."

"We need to keep him safe," the headmaster admitted. "Without Harry..."

Ron sat quietly amidst the suddenly energised members of the Order, not noticing that he wasn't the only one who wasn't as enthused about all of this. Bill, Fred and George were muttering to one another in hushed undertones.

Ron had had quite some time to think over the years and in the last few weeks, with the attack on Snape and all the implications that came with that, Ron Weasley had finally begun to grow up. He asked the question that no one else had the guts to ask straight out. "What happens if Harry doesn't want to come home?"

The excited talk faded leaving a stunned silence.

"Why wouldn't Harry want to come home?" asked Tonks.

Ron stuck out his chin. "He left of his own free will, didn't he? There was no suggestion that he was captured. He walked out of Diagon Alley covered by his invisibility cloak and never came back."

Dumbledore's brow furrowed.

"Ronald," Hermione said impatiently, "Harry has to be found and kept safe because..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Harry's the chosen one and all that. But suppose he's made a life for himself and is happy. We've not been able to find him so he must be safe. _Why_ must he come back?"

Hermione's brown eyes widened.

"What has he got to come back for?" Ron looked around the table at the assembled Order members who all looked as if they'd just eaten something unpleasant. "He didn't bring Snape back to Hogwarts. He sent him back. There was no note...nothing. He didn't want us to know anything."

"Why wouldn't Harry want to come back?" asked Hermione. "Of course, he would. That's a stupid question, Ron..."

"Harry has no choice..." Dumbledore said, looking unusually hesitant.

"We all have choices, Albus," murmured Remus. "You've told us all that on more than one occasion. It's our choices that make us what we are. We have to choose between what is right and what is easy. Harry's been put through far too much already in his life and if he's safe and happy..."

"But he's not safe," said Professor McGonagall.

"With V...Vold..Voldemort back," Hermione finished the name swiftly, "none of us are safe but Harry is a powerful wizard and can easily defend himself. He can throw off the Imperius Curse, for Merlin's sake. How many other wizards could do that at fourteen?"

"But if You-know-who comes after him," said Hestia. "Could he survive against more than one Death Eater."

"He's done it before," Ron muttered.

"He has to be living in the Muggle world with little or no magic," Hermione stated. "We've discussed this before. What I can't understand is Harry going away permanently. He loves the wizarding world and his magic."

"But he was used to being without it," said Tonks. "You would be the same, and me. You're a Muggleborn and Harry and I are halfbloods with strong ties to the Muggle world."

"So we find Harry and imprison him here for his own good?" asked Bill, his feelings of distaste plain to see. "Harry may own Grimmauld Place but he doesn't like it. Hell, bring him back to the wizarding world and keep him safe in Azkaban. It's the same thing isn't it?"

"You know that Harry can't cope with the dementors," cried Hermione. "That's a silly thing to say, Bill."

"Is it?" Bill's mouth flattened into a thin line. "He's got demons that haunt him in this house, too. Sirius was trapped here."

"But the prophecy," Hermione whispered, inexplicably shaken at the mention of Sirius Black. "V...V...Voldemort will keep coming after him until he succeeds in killing Harry or is destroyed by Harry. There's no way out."

Albus had never felt as old as he did at that moment. He closed his eyes for a moment before giving Minerva a tiny nod. "There's an even greater reason that Harry's in danger."

"What now?" Bill muttered, his exasperation showing. Even _his_ patience with the headmaster had run out.

Remus looked alarmed. "What is it?" He felt like crying. What had Harry to do now?

"Voldemort threw a curse at Harry during the fight at Hogsmeade."

"That's not uncommon," murmured Tonks.

"The curse is. It can drain the victim of their magic - possibly permanently."

"I've never heard of that," said Hermione sitting up. "What is it called?" They could all see that she was itching to start researching it.

"It's a very dark curse," said Professor McGonagall. "I would suspect that You-know-who is the only one capable of performing it."

"You are kidding, aren't you?" Ron burst out.

"I'm sorry to say that I am not."

Remus sat up straight in his chair, his amber eyes stormy. "You knew about this when Harry disappeared." It wasn't a question.

"I did," admitted Dumbledore.

"That's why you wanted him to return to Privet Drive. Harry knew about the curse, too?" asked Hermione incredulously. "What made you even think that his horrible relatives would accept him back."

"They would accept him because they had to." Dumbledore sighed. "There are ways..."

Alastor Moody gave a heavy sigh preventing Dumbledore from answering. "You've made some mistakes in your time, Albus, but I think that was one of your biggest."

"I know and I've apologised in my head to Harry a hundred thousand times but he's never been here to hear it." The headmaster let his head rest in his hands. "I've not done my best by that boy. I only hope he can forgive me."

Tonks stretched out her hand to grip Lupin's tightly. "I thought there was something wrong with Harry five years ago but I didn't that it could be something this serious. What?" she demanded, glaring at the Order members. "I'm clumsy, not blind. I like Harry, love him in a way. He's a good kid and he's had a really raw deal over the years. He was in love with Ginny Weasley – did you know that? I could clearly see it but no, you had to hand her over practically gift-wrapped to my asinine cousin, Draco."

"You knew that Harry...and Ginny?" Bill stuttered to a stop.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Bill." Tonks shook her head, her hair morphing through the colour spectrum finished on a particularly bilious shade of green. "It's as clear as the ever-changing colours of my hair that Harry had a major thing for your sister and only broke up with her because he thought it would keep her safe. But that's not what we're discussing here. You-know-who cast a hex at Harry that turned him into a squib?"

Dumbledore lifted his head. "Yes, but the breakdown of the wizard's magic happens gradually over several weeks – if not months. It is not an instant thing. The witch or wizard in question will feel more tired than usual – drained of energy with accompanying dizziness or nausea."

"Headaches," said Hermione quietly to Ron. "Harry had these headaches that weren't V... You-know-who related."

"Is there a cure?" Shacklebolt's deep voice boomed across the room.

"If caught and treated in time then the damage can be controlled to a point."

"And that is?" Remus voice was glacial.

"His magic must drain away before it can recover." Dumbledore folded his hands in front of him. "What Harry needs is time and time is something he probably doesn't have. It's only been five years. In the few documented cases in existence over the last eight hundred years - the time needed is longer – ten to fifteen years at least and sometimes the magic never returns fully."

"But he made a portkey?" said Hermione, recalling the sight of Harry's pale pinched face five years ago with misgiving. "He must have some magic left or perhaps it is returning."

"I am hoping you are right in this matter, Miss Granger."

"How long would it take for his magic to recover from such a curse?" Bill Weasley asked coolly, but inside he was laughing. Trust Harry to survive once more against the odds.

"He cast the port key and so he must have some recovery. Harry was an extremely powerful young man before all this happened. It's difficult to gauge," replied Dumbledore carefully. "Voldemort is the only wizard alive who could cast this curse. You'll forgive me if I don't divulge its name."

"You do not have to. I already know of it. _Merde_, but it's horrible," Fleur had spoken for only the second time during that meeting.

The headmaster looked surprised. "You have heard of it?"

"_Oui_," the French girl answered matter-of-factly. "We heard of it during our advanced classes at Beauxbatons. It is not an unforgiveable - but only because there are none alive capable of performing such a curse."

"Now you know that's not true, Mrs. Weasley." Dumbledore said wearily. "There _is_ a wizard capable of casting it. Although, I think that was what allowed Harry to destroy Voldemort once more. The spell takes the magic from the wizard's core temporarily weakening him to fuel the power."

"The hex is _Magisiphonoux_," declared Fleur, a little spiteful satisfaction in her gaze directed at Dumbledore. Harry had always treated her kindly.

"You shouldn't have divulged that, Mrs. Weasley," said the headmaster sadly.

"It's not a secret. All the witches and wizards in my year at Beauxbatons were given information on such dark curses. Do you expect Durmstrang would have done any less?"

Hermione shot to her feet, ignoring Ron's hand trying to tug her down again. "You knew about this, Professor Dumbledore, and you didn't tell us what was happening to our best friend? Harry left us five years ago and for all this time you've said nothing."

"This was too sensitive information to release, Miss Granger. If the wrong people had found this out they would have stopped at nothing to destroy him."

"That was a regular part of Harry's life from the moment he entered Hogwarts," said Ron matter-of-factly "Quirrel, diary-Riddle, Barty Crouch Junior..."

Dumbledore held up his hands stopping Ron's flow of words as he tried to explain. "This time it was different. Harry truly was defenceless and could still be so."

Hermione was so angry that she could barely get the words out. "That's why he left. He had to. He couldn't stay and not do magic. He wasn't even safe to walk down Diagon Alley anymore." Her eyes narrowed on Dumbledore. "That's why you wanted him to return to his relatives - because he couldn't be with his own kind any more. You would have forced him there, wouldn't you?"

"Miss Granger..." Professor McGonagall tried to stop her favourite ex-pupil from shouting further at the headmaster.

"Did Harry know what was happening to him?" asked Hermione, her eyes filling with tears.

Dumbledore wondered how much his answer would cost him. "Yes, he knew," he admitted.

"Merlin," she breathed, sinking down beside Ron. "He didn't tell us. He couldn't trust us to support him. Going back to those awful people would have killed him."

"We don't have a choice in this, do we?" asked Ron bleakly. "We have to find him before You-know... Oh, bloody hell!" he swore, glad that his mother wasn't at this particular meeting. "We have to find Harry before V...Voldemort does."

"That we do, lad," agreed Moody. "But if he can send a man by port key to Hogwarts then he's not a complete squib."

"Harry is a powerful young man," stated Dumbledore. "We do not know what his power truly could be. Five years without magic could be enough to temper and fine tune that magic. He _could_ resent the wizarding world for what has happened to him. We all start out with the best intentions..."

"How dare you, Dumbledore! Harry would never..." Remus' voice emerged sounding like a snarl. "Harry _could _never." The werewolf reigned in his temper with difficulty, the power of the wolf visible in his amber eyes. "You sound as if you don't want Harry to be powerful."

Dumbledore heaved a great sigh. "I'm not sure that I do. Harry once said that Voldemort had fifty plus years of magical knowledge over him and there was no way he could possibly know enough to defeat him. I brushed him off because it was true. Said something trite about 'the power he knows not' and hoped that he would accept my response. I forgot that I wasn't dealing with a child anymore and we never were quite certain what that power was. I was hoping that it was Harry's power to love."

"If it's a match of power, how can he defeat Voldemort now?" Hermione shouted. "Everything Harry loves has been taken from him. What can love do for Harry? Hug You-know-who into oblivion"

"The boy has been left totally defenceless without magic. How can he be our only hope? Perhaps you made a mistake with the prophecy," said Moody gruffly.

Dumbledore's face looked defeated for a moment. "There is no mistake," he said. "Harry was the one marked as Voldemort's equal. Whatever happens, Voldemort will come after Harry. He has a point to prove."

Fred and George caught one another's eyes. Harry and Ginny would be rather interested in today's developments.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

The Christmas market was in full swing as Ginny met Caroline and Helen in town for a last go at the Christmas shopping. She was a little anxious as she'd waved Harry away very early in the morning. He was driving to Aberdeen with a colleague for some sort of work seminar at the University. While he was there, he was going to visit the small wizarding district close by and, if things went their way, be able to contact Remus Lupin.

"Are you meeting your husband for lunch?" asked Helen. "He'll be finished at 1pm."

Ginny shook her head, aware of feeling a sense of vague unease about something. "No, Gary's in Aberdeen at some seminar thing for the bank – on a Saturday, too. I don't think he was looking forward to it. But it means I can finish off the Christmas shopping and actually get his present home, wrapped and hidden. He can be difficult to buy for."

"All men are difficult to buy for," Helen said ruefully. "I say every year that I'm not buying my father-in-law more socks but inevitably I do - socks or slippers. Still, it's the thought that counts."

"Let's go and get a cuppie before we check out these stalls. I notice the guys selling the German sausages are here again. They're great with pasta and on pizza and he gave me a great bargain last year." Caroline began pulling them towards the small cafe narrowly avoiding a squat man who pushed rudely past them without an excuse me. Behind them, the brass band played 'God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen' in front of the large Christmas tree.

It brought back memories of another Christmas. The tune was the same but the words had been magical. Sirius had taught 'God Rest ye merry Hippogriffs' to Harry. Jamie would be much more aware of his presents this year. Harry had done most of the opening and indeed the playing with his son's toys for the last two Christmases.

Ginny didn't know what made her turn her head to glance once more behind her at the festive scene but what she saw made her blood run cold. The wizarding world hadn't found her yet but they were not far away. "Merlin," she whispered, her stomach lurching with sudden fear. A group of wizards stood watching the general Christmas bustle with sneering disdain, wands gripped between tight fingers. They had finally caught up with her and Harry. How could they have found them?

She looked down into the pushchair and whispered a sleeping charm her own mother had used with all her children. Jamie didn't need to see any of this. Some of those wizards looked vaguely familiar and she couldn't see this ending well.

Caroline stopped in the open door of the cafe. "Jenny..."

"Get inside," she whispered fiercely, pushing Jamie's pushchair into Helen's hands. "Get inside both of you, go straight to the back and keep your heads down. And hide my son. These bastards aren't getting near him."

"What!"

"Go!" she snapped. "You're both Muggles. You can't do anything against a group of homicidal wizards."

"Did you say wizards?" queried Caroline faintly.

"I'll explain as much as I'm allowed to later." But Ginny suspected there wouldn't be a later. This was too public an event. The Ministry of Magic would send Ministry obliviators up to wipe the memories of the Muggles. She had to make sure that she wasn't around when they did so.

There was a sudden scream and then the town centre exploded into chaos. Ginny gritted her teeth and inched forward, her wand appearing in her hand. She was wrong; it wasn't her they were looking for after all. They were trying to cause as much mayhem in a Muggle area as they could.

_**xxxxxxxxxx**_

32


	29. Chapter 29

**The Unbreakable Vow 29**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.**

**As always my thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

Harry only had an hour and a half for lunch and even then it was doubtful that he'd get away from the conference at all but the chance to visit the tiny wizarding district in Old Aberdeen and a properly working floo was too good to miss. Babble's Books had closed down and the shop front left dark and dusty. An _alohamora_ to get inside the vacant premises was too risky in the centre of a Muggle town with security cameras everywhere. He also didn't want to draw attention to himself magically by using a Disillusionment charm. So visiting Elphinstone's Wynd, where there were bound to be plenty of wizarding folk, was definitely in his plans. If he could do that - and the twins assured him that they would make certain Remus was alone in Grimmauld Place - there was a good chance he could contact the last of the Marauders without Dumbledore, the Ministry and the Death Eaters finding out. Moony was the wizard that Harry felt the most regret for abandoning – the one he missed the most.

He could feel the call of the wizarding world – the magic in him grew stronger every day. The strange thing was, he'd never felt it like this before he'd known he was a wizard. Perhaps Dumbledore would have the answer when Harry finally forgave him – and he knew that he would forgive the old man...eventually.

Harry managed to lose his colleague at lunchtime by wanting urgently to visit the University bookshop for an accountancy text he needed for his next exam. He had a pretty good idea that he would lose his colleague after that excuse. Predictably, the colleague had shaken his head in disbelief and headed back to the buffet table for another couple of sausage rolls. "Eat your heart out, Sibyll Trelawney," Harry muttered. Divination had not been one of his best subjects at school but he could still predict when a good excuse would get rid of an unwanted hanger-on.

The High Street was quiet, it being a Saturday and the end of the University term. Harry strode briskly up the cobbled road and crossed where the Muggle world briefly intervened at the traffic lights into the tree-lined quiet of the Chanonry. He remembered the directions from the 'Guide Book to Magical Places in Wizarding Britain' by Ethel Bradbury that Hermione had forced him to read. If he reached the cathedral then he'd gone too far. The gateway into the Magical world had to be around here somewhere.

Suddenly, the shimmer of magic caught and held his senses. Harry could feel the sweetness of the art calling to him, thrumming through his very soul. Magic, how he'd missed the experience of having it around him. He guessed that the gateway would be charmed with anti-Muggle charms but then he wasn't a Muggle. Elphinstone's Wynd was no Diagon Alley but there were half-a-dozen shops doing brisk Christmas business and he had a list from his wife to complete.

Twenty minutes later, Harry patted his coat pocket containing the shrunken items from the apothecary. It was time to go and see if he could reconnect with his next family member. He knew there would be some awkwardness because he knew he had hurt Remus by leaving. But he'd truly had no choice.

The shop he entered sold a variety of items including quills and inks but it was primarily a bookstore. Harry knew that he didn't really have time to browse but he was drawn as usual to the small but comprehensive defence section, his fingers already reaching for the books that called so clearly to him. It was the sensation of eyes boring into the back of his head that finally reminded Harry to look at his watch. He was going to take some of these books home, he thought with satisfaction. He turned his head to look at the wizards behind the counter. He was sure that one of them had been staring at him with unusual intensity.

"I'll take these," he murmured, laying the books on the counter. "Need to brush up on some of my defensive skills."

"We all will if anyone like You-know-who ever turns up again," said the sales clerk with a shudder. "You've got a good selection there, lad. Could I recommend the Willowspur? It's considered to be the best book on defence at the moment and has recently been updated. It's on the Auror training reading list."

"Thank you, I will. Add it to the pile," Harry said smiling, looking at the glossy leather-bound tome with interest.

"That'll be twenty galleons, young sir," the clerk said politely. "Would you like them shrink wrapped?"

"Please," replied Harry.

"I'll get the wrapping parchment," murmured the second wizard reaching below the counter. "Oh, there's none left in the drawer. Excuse me, I'll just get some more from the back. Go and finish restocking the shelves, Bertram. I'll finish off the customer's _order_."

"Are you sure, Duncan?"

"Aye." He held out a slim tome bound in red. "This book on phoenixes was in the wrong place."

Bertram took the proffered volume and disappeared up a flight of stairs.

The older wizard looked at Harry and murmured, "excuse me, I won't be long." He was as good as his words, returning a few minutes later. "I'm Anderson," the wizard said as he shrank Harry's purchases.

"Peters," he responded quietly. He was certain that 'Duncan Anderson' was the one showing such an interest in him but could only think of two reasons why. One, he had recognised Harry and was a Death Eater and two, he had recognised Harry and had a connection with Dumbledore. He hoped it was the second reason. It was not a ridiculous notion. The headmaster had more tentacles than the giant squid but at least Dumbledore wanted Harry alive.

When the wizard had stressed the word '_Order'_ followed by all that stuff about the book on Phoenixes, Harry thought that it could be reason number two. He could feel the reassuring weight of his wand in its holster against his arm. A quick flick and it would be in his hand.

"I've never seen you here before," Anderson said quietly, trying to draw out the young man dressed in the Muggle suit. There was something extremely familiar about him and he'd hastened to send word to the right party. "The wizarding community up in this part of the world is quite small and I know nearly all the families."

Harry gave an impersonal smile, resisting the urge to ask about the whereabouts of other local wizarding families. "I've never been here before," he admitted. "We only moved north recently." Harry made a play of looking at his watch. "I'll have to get going. My lunch hour is nearly over."

"Oh, what is it you do?" The wizard tried to keep the young man talking a bit longer. If this _was_ Harry Potter then he needed to give Dumbledore's people time to arrive.

"I work for Muggles," Harry said with another smile, giving nothing away.

"But you're a wizard, aren't you?" asked Anderson.

"Oh, yes. I'd hardly be able to walk in here if I wasn't. You have very strong Muggle repelling charms in place. I could sense them at the door. But I don't work for wizards. Tried it and it didn't work out." Harry gathered up his small pile of shrunken books and put them in his pocket. His eyes went to the fireplace. It didn't look as if he had the time on this visit to go to Grimmauld Place unless... "Do you have a working floo...?" he asked politely

"Aye. In fact, it's recently been cleaned and updated." Anderson nodded as a sudden rumble was heard from the grate and a figure stepped through.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Remus Lupin rubbed his eyes tiredly as he stared at the book propped up on the well-scrubbed kitchen table. He'd read the same page three times now and its meaning still hadn't worked itself into his brain.

A piece of coal shifted in the grate and the fire began to glow. Remus sat up and looked at the fireplace. It appeared that a message was coming through.

"Hello...Hello... Anyone at home?" The soft Scottish lilt in the voice was familiar.

Remus moved to the fireplace.

"Albus?" A head appeared in the flames.

"No, it's Remus Lupin."

"Ah, Remus." There was relief in the wizard's voice. "I have to be quick and it could be nothing but didn't you ask me to keep a look out for Harry Potter?"

Remus blinked in surprise. Anderson, a quietly spoken wizard who had been at Hogwarts with Remus's father, owned a small bookshop cum general store in...Aberdeen. The Order had thought that Harry might be in that area. This sounded promising. "I did."

"This may seem like a daft question but wouldn't he be with you on a regular basis?" Anderson didn't quite understand why he was looking out for someone the Order should know the whereabouts of. Unless, the Scot thought in surprise, they _didn't_ know where the boy was and were trying to find him. There'd been no hint of that in _The Daily Prophet. _In fact, the _Prophet_ had been very quiet lately on the subject of the Potter boy

"He's been training in a top-secret location." It was a feeble excuse and Remus knew it but he maintained the official storyline. He didn't know what else to say. All his years of backing up the wilder schemes of James and Sirius with plausible explanations seemed to desert him. "Dumbledore wouldn't tell me where it was but damn it, Anderson, Harry is James and Lily's son. I was close friends with his parents and wanted to see him... He's all I have left and as much as I admire the headmaster, Albus has no right to keep me from Harry. I should have done this a long time ago."

He'd left Harry alone until the boy was in his third year at Hogwarts at the request of the headmaster. When he finally did meet Harry, he couldn't even admit to having known James Potter, let alone having been a friend of his. He could have been there for the boy throughout his childhood all along and he bitterly regretted that he wasn't. "Yes, I should have done this a long time ago," he repeated softly.

"Well, Albus must have let him loose for the day because there's a young man currently in my shop with his head deep in amongst the defence material who is the absolute spitting image of James Potter without the glasses."

"Without glasses?" Remus frowned. "Harry's eyesight isn't good enough to go without his specs but that doesn't prove anything. Maybe he has contact lenses." He thought quickly. "Scar?" he asked. "Not easy to hide."

"His hair is covering his forehead so I can't see if it's there." Anderson's head turned away. "Sorry, Remus, just checking to see if he's still in the defence section."

"Is he?

"Yes."

"What about his eyes," Remus asked urgently. "He has Lily's green eyes – if it's Harry? I've never seen anything so vivid before or since."

"I'm sorry, Remus. I just can't see those details from here. He has his head buried in a book. But he's the absolute double of James Potter – dressed smartly in a Muggle suit. He's heading towards the counter. I'll go and see what I can find out by speaking to him. I'll check eyes and forehead while I'm at it."

Remus thought quickly. Could it really be Harry? It was all a little too easy – too sudden. Suppose it was him and they lost the opportunity? "Delay him if you can. I'm coming through."

"It was the full moon the other night. Are you well enough?" Anderson knew all about Remus's furry little roblem. It was a shame such a thing had happened to such a kind wizard.

"I've been worse," was all that the werewolf said.

"Be quick then, lad," Anderson said, his head disappearing from the Grimmauld Place fireplace.

Remus grabbed his wand and his walking stick from the table and dug his hand into the pot of floo powder on the mantelpiece. "Anderson's Artefacts," he enunciated clearly as he stepped into the flames. He emerged on the other side, brushing the soot off of his tweed jacket and his gaze immediately focused on the figure at the counter.

The young man's eyes went from casually unconcerned to watchful in an instant and he adjusted his weight to rest on the balls of his feet. Harry was surprised that his dilemma had worked itself out so fortuitously. He hadn't had to go to Grimmauld Place after all. Remus had miraculously come to him. He stifled a snort of sardonic laughter and relaxed...a little.

He was getting soft now that his magic was back. This was a magical shop and, of course, Dumbledore would have someone in place watching in case he appeared.

His father's old friend looked tired but well. Harry knew that the full moon had just passed and Remus would be weak, recovering from the effects of his transformation.

Remus took one look at the young man standing at the counter and went pale with a combination of rage and relief. This Harry was an almost carbon copy of his father right down to the hazel eyes. His hair was longer and perhaps a shade or two lighter than it should be and the famous scar wasn't visible beneath the fringe but it was there. It was the cub right enough. "Harry!" he said, his fingers gripping the shaft of his wand so tightly that they turned white. His temper flared. "Harry James Potter!" he growled. "Where the hell have you been?"

In the blink of an eye, Harry's wand was held loosely between his fingers. "Moony," he drawled dryly, his unspoken question answered at the sight of the angry wizard. The last of the Marauders was not going to forgive him on sight. "Do you want me to answer a security question to prove my identity?"

"No." The werewolf's amber eyes narrowed. "I know exactly who you are even with brown eyes and longer hair. Why you thought that disguise would fool anyone I'll never understand." He exhaled an angry breath. "What I do want to know is where you've been."

"Can't say," returned Harry blithely. "Modified Fidelius charm."

"Why?"

"Why can't I say or why did I go away?" He shrugged. "It's difficult to find me with a Fidelius charm in place and to be honest I didn't want to be found," he replied stiffly. "I had good reasons for what I did."

Remus returned his wand to his pocket. "Please, Harry!" he pleaded. "Tell me those reasons. Why did you leave?"

"I'd had enough, perhaps?" Harry returned flippantly, twirling his wand between his fingers. "So many people wanted to kill me and many still do. I decided that I didn't want to tamely roll over and oblige them so I voluntarily removed myself from the picture for a while.

Remus growled quietly, finding it difficult to curb his feelings of anger towards the boy. Didn't he realise what he'd put them all through? "Stop this, Harry. This isn't you."

"Oh, but it is." Harry lifted his head, his altered eyes boring into Remus. "If you want the truth, I actually gave it to you. I'd had enough and I couldn't trust Dumbledore not to twist me into knots of his devising. He's behind many of my so-called problems. Even better than that, Sirius agreed with me."

Remus stifled a curse. Sirius had warned all of them to watch how they treated his godson. He'd always believed that one day Dumbledore would go too far in his treatment of Harry and Harry obviously shared that view. "What made you come back now?"

Harry looked at his watch, the gold ring on his finger catching the light. "I haven't come back. You just caught me doing some shopping. Look, Remus, there's no time for this right now. I have to get back to work."

"Work..." Remus stuttered to a halt. "You work?"

"Of course, I work," Harry said. "I live a normal life which includes working for a living. Did you think I could remain idle all these years? I've never been allowed such a luxury even though I have enough galleons to permit it."

Lupin opened and closed his mouth before saying tiredly, "Maybe I need a security question after all."

"Maybe you do." Harry gave a little nod as if he'd made a decision. "Will you tell Dumbledore that you saw me? I'd rather you didn't and he already knows why I left."

"I don't need to tell him, Harry. You're coming with me." Remus was ready to move quickly if he had to. He couldn't assume that Harry had little or no magic despite Dumbledore's views on the hex Voldemort had flattened Harry with. This was the boy that had produced a corporeal Patronus at fourteen and had portkeyed a gravely injured Snape back to Hogwarts. Harry was rolling his wand loosely between his fingers in a casually confident manner that indicated a quiet power and a willingness to use it if necessary.

"No, not today. I'm not going anywhere but home. I have a life that, for the moment, I need to return to." His eyes glowed at the thought of his family before becoming serious again. "I do not want Dumbledore aware of my location. He'll lock me up somewhere and forbid me from making my own decisions. I'm not a child anymore..."

"But Harry..."

"No, to Dumbledore. Look, Moony, you may think that the sun shines out the old man's arse but I can assure you that I do not."

The situation was worse than he'd thought. Remus had to start repairing things between Harry and Albus. It was vital to the future of the wizarding world that he did so. "He's more than sorry, Harry. Not telling you about your magic being cursed away was wrong."

Harry scowled. "So he told you?" Harry muttered something uncomplimentary about the headmaster under his breath. "He was told to keep it quiet. The fewer people who knew about it the better."

"He told the Order only recently, Harry," Remus remonstrated gently. "And only a select few of the Order at that."

"That won't help me. It doesn't matter what you say about Order business being private; someone usually finds out about such things and blabs it to the _Daily Prophet_. Then my life and character are dissected with no thought to me and my feelings. The supposed saviour of the wizarding world without magic - what a hideous joke."

"We're not treating it as a joke, Harry," Remus said quietly. "You would be assigned round-the-clock auror protection. There are numerous wards and enchantments which could be used in protecting you."

"Not when I'm sent back to Privet drive and my unloving relatives with a pat on the head from Dumbledore and told to wait until it's too late to do anything. My enemies could meet me in the street and have me killed because I'm unable to defend myself. Wizards can exist quite happily in the Muggle world and many do. Perhaps you don't remember that _Dementors_ were set upon me in the Muggle world and my cousin and I were lucky to escape the kiss. I was under 'protection' then. My answer to you about the way I feel about Dumbledore is easy to explain. He used me, Remus, and will continue to do so until I'm spent."

"Harry..."

"I'm not going to tamely return to Privet Drive or Order headquarters to be locked up until Voldemort comes to kill me. Sorry." His insincere apology was patently an untruth. "I have a life of my own now and I'm not giving it up. If he thinks I would then he's more stupid than Crabbe and Goyle put together. You and I both know what the prophecy says."

"But Harry..." Remus moved closer. "Your magic... You said it yourself: 'unable to defend yourself'. You need to be protected."

"I've been far safer away from the wizarding world than I was when in it and my magic is recovering." Harry dug into his pocket and produced a small piece of white paper. "Remus..."

The werewolf gripped his wand tightly. He didn't want to do this but they'd been looking for Harry for over five years and now that he'd found the boy, he wasn't letting him get away. Remus formed the word on his tongue. "_Stupefy..._"

Harry flicked his wand and the spell ricocheted off a silent block. He smirked coldly at the werewolf. "Not a good idea, Remus. You didn't think I would just tamely come with you?"

"What...!"

There was an odd beeping sound coming from somewhere close. Startled at the sound, Remus failed to utter his intended spell and watched as Harry began digging in his pocket and fished out a small, flat, rectangular object and placed it against his ear. "I need to take a call," he explained to the slightly bemused wizards in front of him. "Hello."

"Thank Merlin!" an annoyed female voice exclaimed frantically. "Why do you never answer your phone? I've been trying to get you for the last ten minutes. Harry, there are Death Eaters..."

"I'm not sure how good the reception is around _here_." Harry said stiffly, casting an anxious glance at Remus and Anderson, both of whom could easily hear the conversation and Remus looked as if he wanted to use his wand on Harry again. He lowered his voice. "Where exactly?"

"In the centre of town. They blew up the Christmas market or tried to."

"Are _you _okay?" Harry was moving towards the door of the shop in the hope of getting a better reception.

"Of course, I'm okay but I've been better," the voice replied irritably. "Could you get that behind of yours here? I could do with some help – Death Eaters."

"And what about..." Harry asked worriedly.

"That's covered. Caroline and Helen are dealing with it. I'm sure everything's fine – it has to be. I'm in that bookshop."

Harry relaxed a little. "You told them to take cover."

"Yes. Hide under a table and not come out until they're sure that it's safe. There are wizards everywhere...well, there's about half-a-dozen. But that's half-a-dozen too many..."

"You broke into it?"

"I had to. It has a working floo." The female on the other end lowered her voice. "They don't seem to be after us. I heard them discussing it. It's all about Snape. They can't find him and decided to cause trouble for the Muggles instead. They don't think that he's really dead."

"Well, he isn't...is he? I'm on my way." He shoved the phone in his jacket pocket. Harry looked at a confused Remus and Anderson. He didn't want to help them find his family's location but he couldn't allow innocent people to be hurt. He reassured himself that he wasn't telling them everything His family's safety was his main priority but the wizarding world was drawing ever closer and one day would collide with the Potters' safe little haven.

"What's happening?" demanded Remus, a horrible feeling rising in his stomach.

Harry pulled his backpack over his shoulders. "You might want to tell the Order that someone is not convinced Severus Snape is dead and is attacking a small town about sixty miles away. It's called Elgin. That would be the most helpful thing you could do for me right now - not stunning me and dragging me back to Dumbledore." He brought up his wand. "Muffliato." He quickly walked over to the Floo and quietly stated his destination: "Babble's Books."

Remus and Anderson were left looking at Harry as he disappeared from the floo in a flash of silent green flames.

"_Finite Incantatem_," shouted Remus. "Harry!" But he was too late. The floo was empty, the green flames dying away with a suddenly audible crackle. "Did you get the name of his destination?"

"No." The bookshop owner shook his head.

"Damn!" Remus swore. "I should have just stunned him on sight."

"He was ready for you and put up a shield spell - a silent one, too. That _muffliato_ spell obscured his destination."

"That's a spell of Snape's devising," said Remus. "If I had any doubt that it was Harry – which I don't – that clinched it for me. I remember Harry using that spell in his later years at school."

Anderson vanished the soot left on the floor. "Who do you think he was speaking to?"

"I don't know for certain. The voice sounded familiar..." Remus paused. If he had to make a guess, the voice on the other end of the phone belonged to Ginny Weasley. "Oh, Harry," he almost groaned.

"You do have an idea, don't you?" asked Anderson.

Remus sighed heavily. "I think so, but it's going to cause a lot of grief for a lot of people and Harry doesn't need any more problems than he's already got."

Anderson gave a rueful chuckle. "If he's everything Albus says he is, then he's in enough trouble with You-know-who on his tail "

"It's no laughing matter but Harry's always been more independent than most – he's had to be." Remus had suspected Harry of being involved in Ginny's disappearance all along. They'd just never been able to prove it and, by Circe, certain parties in the Ministry had tried.

"Would you really have stunned him?" asked Anderson, eyeing the werewolf shrewdly. "Because he wasn't going to go anywhere with you willingly. That was a load of Thestral dung you were feeding me earlier, wasn't it? None of you have any idea where Harry Potter's been for the last five years, have you?"

Remus' shoulders slumped wearily. "We've been looking for him for that length of time. He just walked away from Diagon Alley under his father's invisibility cloak without a word. Albus placed too much pressure on the boy's shoulders and Harry finally had enough one day and left."

Anderson considered the werewolf's words. "Albus Dumbledore is a great wizard and I personally have a great deal of time for him but he can sometimes lose sight of an individual's needs."

Remus held up his hand. "Albus has a lot to think about – he's dealing with the entire fate of the wizarding world and this hasn't been easy for him either. He genuinely loves Harry."

The Scot shrugged. "I'm not saying that he doesn't. But the young lad obviously can't see it. Would you have done it...fought to take him back?"

Remus froze. Could he have done it? He would have found it difficult to actually harm the boy - no, Harry wasn't a boy, he was a man now. Harry would not have forgiven him for doing such a thing. "I set out to do it," he admitted, "but... no, I don't think I could have continued with an attack. My attempt to stun him was a complete failure. I would have tried to reason with him further if given the chance but I doubt that he wouldn't have listened." He looked up at the other man, his face pained. "It would never have worked. Harry's too good at defence. All I want is for him to be safe..."

Anderson flicked his wand at the shop door and the door locked and the blinds closed. "Can you trace where he's gone, Remus?"

"I don't think so." The werewolf flicked his wand in some diagnostic manoeuvres before shaking his head in defeat. "Albus or the Ministry of Magic could probably manage to find that out but we can't waste time if there's trouble elsewhere. By the time we try to find Harry, he'll be long away and meanwhile, people are probably getting hurt."

"But he's given us some hard facts." Anderson said quietly. "You know more than you did - things that will help you trace his whereabouts."

"Yes. That's if we can get round the Fidelius charm." Remus flicked his wand and his silvery dog Patronus rose before them. "To Albus Dumbledore," he instructed the shaggy silver spectre. "If he doesn't already know, please convey the message that there are problems in a place called Elgin. Death Eaters are beginning to suspect that Snape isn't as dead as they thought he was. And Albus, this information came from Harry. I'll explain when I see you."

Anderson finished putting a couple of books back on a shelf. "You're not fit enough to go, are you?"

Remus shook his head. "Unfortunately not. I am well aware of my limitations during this phase of the moon. I would be a liability."

"But you can still think. So work out what you did find out. Use that clever mind of yours, lad. The boy gave you a lot of clues, you know." The older wizard murmured. "Even just by looking at him. I don't have a Pensieve but I daresay you could borrow the one that Albus has in his office."

Remus began to pace. "We're in the right area – we can even narrow it a little. He must live in or around this place called Elgin. That could be near where they found Severus."

"Found Severus?" repeated Anderson.

"Severus was brutally attacked somewhere around this area and he was found by a wizard who sent him to Hogwarts," explained Remus.

"Severus was attacked!" Anderson exclaimed. "Is he okay? I'm not saying that I liked the man but he's another wizard that's done a difficult job over the years." Anderson shook his head. "His mother, Eileen Prince, was just as difficult when she was young. I was at Hogwarts with Eileen as well as your father."

"I had forgotten that," murmured Remus.

"We'd be a lot worse off without some of the information Severus has been able to provide," Anderson stated. "His courage can't be ignored."

"I agree, though Severus is not an easy man to like." Remus and Anderson shared a rueful smile. "But this time someone found him out and now he's lucky to be alive. He won't be spying against You-know-who any more for the Order. The Death Eaters will make certain of his demise if they get their hands on him again."

"So he was badly hurt?"

Remus grimaced. "Left for dead. It was sheer luck that he was found at all. I don't envy Poppy Pomfrey her job in ensuring his recovery because it will be slow and he is sure to be ill-tempered."

Anderson produced a long thin wand of a dark wood and waved it at a kettle. "Poppy will have her hands full then but she'll manage – she always does. Tea?"

The two men shared another laugh and Remus nodded at the offer. "Sounds good."

"Come and have a seat, lad, and we'll consider our evidence like a couple of good detectives. I like a good mystery like that Warlock Holmes." Anderson chuckled to himself. "Come on, lad, this way. You're still looking a bit peaky."

Remus followed Anderson through to the back and plonked himself down onto a lumpy looking couch, watching as the Scotsman waved his wand again at a couple of mugs hanging on hooks while the ancient looking kettle obligingly started to whistle loudly. Two teabags flew into the mugs and Anderson poured a small amount of milk from his wand into the steaming liquid. "Harry Potter works for Muggles." Anderson handed the werewolf a large mug. "He said so."

Remus nodded. "I assumed that much. He did say that he had to get back to work. Indulge my curiosity, Anderson. What else did you notice?""

"He gave me a name but it was Peters, not Potter. A name can be traced, Remus."

Remus' face filled with hope. "That's even better."

Anderson picked up his own mug and sat himself in a beat-up armchair opposite Remus. "Now, what else did I notice?" He took a sip of his tea. "Well," he said slowly. "He's well for a start. The Muggle suit is in good condition and indicates that he works in a white collar occupation – possibly an office. He's very thin..."

"His father was the same," Remus put in. "No matter how much he ate, James was as skinny as a broomstick. Harry's taller than he was, I think, but still wears that anxious expression. Harry always had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Anything else?"

"He was wearing a wedding ring," commented Anderson, waving a stubby finger. "So he must have a wife. Perhaps the woman that spoke to him from the little flat box is his wife?"

"Harry! No! He's just a boy," Remus protested as his mind worked around what Anderson was saying. If Harry was married, then he'd married a Muggle girl or, his heart sank. Harry had either married a Muggle girl who would not be able to cope with the dangers in which being close to Harry would place her, or, he'd married Ginny Weasley, the affianced, contracted bride of the Malfoy family. He didn't know which one was worse.

"He's what...twenty?"

"Twenty-three."

Anderson sat back on his chair and folded his arms. "Wizards often pair up early. James and Lily married just out of Hogwarts. My parents and yours did the same. That's no boy and he was wearing a wedding ring. He walked away from all his friends and the world he knew. It makes perfect sense that he would form replacement attachments, emotional or otherwise. No one can live in total isolation, Remus lad. Not even you. You don't have anything of that nature to share with me? It's time you settled down and had a family of your own."

The werewolf flushed. "There is a witch," he admitted huskily, thinking of Nymphadora Tonks and his own reluctance to commit. He was sure that he was in love with her but there were far too many risks involved. He pushed the thoughts of the young Metamorphmagus from his mind. It wasn't the time. "But..."

"That's the best news I've heard about you for a long time," interrupted Anderson. "Don't pass up the chance of love. My wife and I have been married for nearly fifty years. Bring the lassie with you the next time you're up this way."

"Keep this to yourself for now, Anderson." Remus threw the rest of his tea down his throat and headed for the fireplace. He needed to speak to Albus. The idea of a married Harry was spinning around in his brain.

"Who would I tell?" asked the Scot.

"There are a number of people I can think of," Remus answered gravely. "And it might not be by choice."

"You can obliviate me if you like," the Scotsman said genially.

Remus gave the man a fond smile. "I think I can trust you."

"Aye, that you can but perhaps you shouldn't trust others so easily. Albus would prefer it if the information was protected. If it got out that I'd seen your missing boy wonder, I wouldn't be safe here and neither would he."

"Are you sure?" Remus didn't like doing this but the Scotsman had a point. "Okay, I'll do it and then I'd better get back to headquarters."

"Aye, ma loon. I suppose you'd better. Dumbledore will want to know the details." Anderson agreed. He stopped and then picked up a piece of white card. "Young Mr. Potter dropped this. I think it was meant for you," he said, handing it to the werewolf. "I canna read it."

"What!" Remus glanced at the small piece of cardboard.

"Just what I said. There's nothing on it."

Remus frowned. "It's blank."

"Then you'll know what to do, won't you?" Anderson pushed the pot containing the floo powder towards him. "Dumbledore will be waiting."

Remus shook his head and pocketed the card. "I suspect the headmaster will have already garnered the Order members available to check out Death Eaters appearing in...Elgin or wherever the place was. I have some time."

Anderson's face brightened. "I have a book on the history of witch drownings in Elgin – it's somewhere around here..." He glanced around him. "Ah, I remember. It's in the Scottish interest section. No one ever wanted to buy it for some reason and it's quite a good read. I should put it in the half price section."

"Maybe you should," Remus agreed. He had no desire to read it either but he wasn't going to tell Anderson that. "Are you ready?" He held out his wand and Anderson nodded.

"Aye, it's for the best. Get on with it, Remus. I have a shop to run."

"Thanks, my friend." Remus took a deep breath and said firmly, "Obliviate!"

Anderson blinked a couple of times and then looked at the werewolf in surprise. "Hello, Remus. What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in a long time. Your father's funeral, wasn't it? A sad business for a wizard to go so young." He looked at his watch. "Have you time to stay for lunch?"

Remus smiled apologetically. "No, I'm sorry but I can't. I was visiting a friend and decided to use the nearest floo to get back to Hogwarts. I have a meeting with Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore's well?" asked the older wizard.

"He's busy," said Remus. "I'd better get going..." He headed towards the fireplace.

Anderson frowned and looked at the empty room. "Odd, I didn't realise that I'd closed the shop."

Remus paused, his hand in the jar of floo powder. "Don't you usually do that at lunchtime?"

"Sometimes I do if things are really quiet. Anyway, Remus, I'll not keep you. Pop up north again and see me some time. I've a good bottle of single malt fire whisky to share. We can reminisce about your father."

"I'll keep that in mind." Remus threw the powder into the fireplace and stepped amongst the flames declaring clearly, "Hogwarts! Professor Dumbledore's office."

He emerged in Dumbledore's deserted office, the walls hung with portraits of sleeping witches and wizards. One of them let out a long, loud snore.

Hopefully the headmaster had acted upon his Patronus. There was no point in him staying, he thought. Dumbledore would contact him as soon as he'd dealt with the problems of the latest Death Eater attack. "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place," he intoned solemnly, as he once again followed a handful of floo powder into the fireplace.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

"Did you say 'wizards'?" Caroline asked faintly, as Ginny pushed them towards the back of the cafe.

"Yes, I did but..." Ginny fiddled with a stray dark brown curl. "I'll explain as much as I can later...and no, I'm not mad..."

There was a sudden scream followed by a loud bang and the happy Christmas scene turned into chaos. Ginny pushed her way out of the crowded building and, gritting her teeth, inched forward, her wand appearing. She slipped around a large white refrigerated van and surveyed the scene. The wizards standing in front of the Christmas tree were shooting the baubles from the branches and making the coloured electric lights explode. They were blasting spells at the stall owners and the shoppers had scarpered as soon as the wizards began their swathe of malicious destruction.

"He won't be here, I tell you," shouted a wizard. "There's no trace of him."

Ginny's heart thumped loudly inside her chest. They were looking for someone. She dropped to her knees and crawled across the cobblestones, finally slipping beneath a stall table covered with a long checked cloth. Peeping through a tear in the fabric, Ginny gazed out at several pairs of dragonhide boots.

"Then the slimy bastard's alive!" declared another voice.

"He managed to fool us all..." snarled the first.

"Not all of us. Bella always suspected him." This voice was familiar. Ginny was certain that she'd heard it before.

"Bella's insane and suspects everyone apart from our Master," the first voice complained in a nasal tone.

"He has to be dead." The nearest pair of boots moved closer to Ginny's hiding place. "Muggles," the voice sneered.

"The Dark Lord expects to see a body and he expects it to belong to Severus," said the familiar voice.

""He's dead, I tell you. No one's looking for him - not even the Ministry. Surely the old fool in the castle would report a missing teacher? Snape, the traitor, was Dumbledore's man."

"Then we get Wormtail..."

There was a smug cackle. "The rat's dead, remember?"

The familiar voice returned and Ginny had the feeling that he was in charge. "This town is the most Muggle place I've seen in a long time. Perhaps we should show these inferior beings how real wizards celebrate the festive season. Let them know that they should fear us."

"Do what you want. If someone around here is hiding Snape, then we want him to get the message that we're onto him and he'd better watch out. _Confringo_!"

Ginny began moving as quickly as she could. They weren't looking for her and Harry at all. They were searching for Snape. "Ow!" she stifled her exclamation of pain as part of the stall disintegrated above her. "Merlin!" she hissed as she scrambled from her impromptu observation station. Abandoning all attempts to overhear anything more, Ginny crawled on aching knees to the next stall. It had been selling smoked sausages and salami. The vendors had given up defending their produce and had moved to safety.

The large bulk of St. Giles Church loomed before her. Maybe she could use the pillars as cover while she worked her way across the street. She had to get to the bookshop...Babble's... whatever it was called. It still had a working floo. Taking a deep breath, she took her chance and sprinted from her cover up the steps and scuttled behind the first of the four stone columns guarding the enormous church doors.

Pulling out her phone, she swiftly dialled her husband. "Harry!" she breathed. "Answer me." There was another loud bang as something exploded only feet away from her hiding place.

"You have reached the voicemail of..."

"Bugger!" She snapped the phone closed and pushed it into her jeans pocket. She sneaked a glance at the scene on front of the church. The once proud Christmas tree lay flat and broken across the Plainstones, the lights smashed beyond repair. The local brass band had been amongst the first to flee. But then, they'd been one of the first targets.

In their anger and frustration, the Death Eaters hadn't even bothered with their usual masks and cloaks. Ginny wasn't certain but she thought that one of them was a friend of Lucius Malfoy's by the name of Mulciber. He appeared to be the one in charge. She'd heard her Dad mention him a few times. The familiar pain at the thought of her gentle father washed over her. She still missed him more than the rest of her family because he was the one she would never see again.

She pulled out her phone and pressed the number to redial Harry. "Come on, come on," she whispered.

"Well, what do we have here?" an oily voice asked and a hand gripped one arm tightly. "A pretty Muggle."

Ginny stiffened, keeping her face averted and slowly, carefully pushed her phone into her pocket and her wand from her arm holster. "Get your hands off me," she ground out.

"Or what!" the sneering voice challenged.

Ginny gave a hard laugh. "I'll hex you." And before the wizard could react, Ginny's wand was fully visible and the words for her favourite hex tumbled from her lips. He let go of her arm, clawing at his face as the attacking bat bogies erupted from his nose. "Oh, and before I forget, _Stupefy_!" she said coldly.

The wizard fell to the floor with a thud. "_Locomotor_ _corpus_!" she intoned clearly, moving the body until it was tucked right against the enormous wooden church door. With a flick of her wand she cast a notice-me-not charm on the unconscious wizard and legged it down the steps and into the nearest alley, running towards where she remembered the now empty bookshop to be. The sound of police and ambulance sirens were ringing in her ears.

Babble's Books appeared even more dilapidated than it had before, its empty dirty windows staring at her. Ginny pointed her wand at the padlock and said "_Alohamora_!" The padlock clicked open, falling to the ground and the door swung ajar. With a swift glance about her, she slipped inside and closed the door.

The inside of the shop was as dirty and forlorn as the outside with the bare shelves and shop counter the only evidence that there had been a business there at all. She pulled out her phone again and punched in the number. "Harry..." she grumbled, her voice beginning to rise with irritation. "You'd better answer me or, by Merlin, I'll..."

"Hello!"

"Thank Merlin!" she muttered through stiff lips "Why do you never answer your phone? I've been trying to get you for the last ten minutes. Harry, there are Death Eaters..."

"I'm not sure how good the reception is around _here,"_ Harry said and Ginny could tell by the sound of his voice that something was happening at his end of the line, too. "Where are you?" he asked.

Ginny sank onto the floor. "In the centre of town. They blew up the Christmas market or tried to."

"Are _you _okay?" Harry asked. She could hear the concern in his voice.

"Of course, I'm okay but I've been better," she replied irritably. "Could you get that behind of yours here? I could do with some help – Death Eaters." She was good at defence but Harry was better and they had Jamie to think about.

"And what about..." Harry asked worriedly.

Ginny bit her lip before answering softly, "That's covered. Caroline and Helen are dealing with it. I'm sure everything's fine – it has to be."

"You told them to take cover." His voice was anxious, the beat of fear only she could tell was there.

"Yes. Hide under a table and not come out until they're sure that it's safe," she whispered. "There are wizards everywhere...well, there's about half-a-dozen. But that's half-a-dozen too many." Especially if they were Death Eaters. "I'm in that bookshop."

"You broke into it?" Harry's voice was incredulous.

"I had to. It has a working floo!" she exclaimed. Sometimes she could bat bogey hex him, too. He sounded as if he was shocked at her actions - like he hadn't ever done anything illegal?. "They don't seem to be after us. I heard them discussing it. It's all about Snape. They can't find him and decided to cause trouble for the Muggles instead. They don't think that he's really dead."

Harry's reply was to the point. "Well, he isn't...is he? I'm on my way."

"Harry...!" But he'd hung up. She moved through to the back room with the fireplace and only had to wait a matter of seconds as Harry stumbled through the floo into her waiting arms.

"Are you sure that you're okay, sweetheart?" Harry asked as he found his feet, steadied himself and relaxed into her embrace.

"I'm fine. What was happening at your end? I could tell just by your voice that something was up."

His bent his head and kissed her. "A more hostile Remus Lupin than I'd imagined but I'll tell you about it later. We'd better go and see if we can do anything."

They slipped from the shop past the vacant windows and into the empty alleyway. Ginny swiftly brought Harry up-to-date. "There's not many of them – the Death Eaters," she said.

"But enough to do a lot of damage," Harry put in. "Evil sods."

"It doesn't take that many," she said thoughtfully. "They are down one. I hexed him."

"Bat-bogey?"

Ginny nodded. "Of course."

Harry shot her a look of appreciation. "That's my girl."

"I'm sure one of them used to follow old Lucius around the Ministry," Ginny muttered as they neared the end of the alley.

Harry stopped. "Malfoy is here?" His voice rose.

"Ssh!" Ginny said sharply. "I haven't seen him, so I don't think so."

The Potters crouched down behind a large cast iron rubbish bin as a police car rattled past them over the cobbled street. A tall wizard in a dark frock coat was lining up his wand pointing it at the police car.

"_Stupefy_," said Harry softly.

"_Petrificus Totalis_," chimed Ginny at exactly the same time. The Death Eater stiffened and dropped like a lead weight where he stood.

Ginny and Harry ducked back into the alley as pounding feet ran towards the downed wizard. "_Ennervate_, _Ennervate_!"

"_Stupefy, stupefy,_" declared Harry, with a malicious chuckle and a deft flick of his wand. Both men collapsed.

"What's happening?" the wizard Ginny recognised shouted furiously.

A dumpy little man in a puce cloak was inspecting the downed wizards. "Either the Aurors must have arrived or the bloody Order. They've been hexed."

"Wake both of them up and then let's get out of here." He turned and aimed his wand towards a stall selling wooden Christmas ornaments and shouted, "_Incendio_."

"_Aguamenti_," returned Harry immediately and a stream of water shot out of his wand. The wizard stopped and turned his attention to Ginny and Harry's hiding place sending several blasting curses their way.

But Ginny was ready with a swiftly uttered, "_Protego_!"

"Shit!" he muttered to Ginny. "You were right about one of Malfoy's cronies being there. That's Mulciber – he fought at the Department of Mysteries." Harry eased forward, his wand outstretched and suddenly, there was a series of loud popping noises. Harry retracted his wand sharply. "Get back to the bookshop, Gin."

"I'm not leaving you on your own," she snapped, her eyes fiery. "Don't tell me..."

"I'm coming with you," Harry retorted. "Dumbledore and the Order have just arrived with some of the Auror corps."

As they scooted back into the alley Harry and Ginny heard Mulciber throw a few more _incendio's_ around and then shout for the Death Eaters to leave.

"Dumbledore's here!" Ginny said incredulously.

"I kind of told Remus to get help," Harry admitted.

"Then they were a bit late coming." Ginny eased herself away from the wall she had pressed herself against.

Harry snorted. "They probably had to convince the Ministry to send some Aurors."

Ginny nodded. "Can you see who they've sent?"

Harry peered out of the alley into the street. "Kingsley," he said. "He sort of sticks out. I can't see anyone else. Wait, that looks like Tonks and another guy I've never seen before."

Ginny's pretty face was solemn. "Dumbledore will be looking for you."

"That's why I need to get out of here but I don't want to go until I know that Jamie's alright." His face took on a stubborn look.

Ginny dropped a kiss on Harry's lips. "You get out of here and I'll wait in the bookshop until everything's clear. Believe me, I'm not going anywhere without Jamie. I can phone Caroline or Helen and tell them to meet me here. I would expect that everyone will be obliviated and most of the damage repaired before they tell everyone it was a gas explosion or something similar."

"But Dumbledore..." protested Harry. "And Jamie is magical. He'll surely sense him."

Worry crept into Ginny's eyes. "I never thought about that."

"It'll be alright." Harry tried to be positive but inside he was worried. "Hopefully Poppy's charm will hold for a bit longer. Dumbledore doesn't know that he's ours. He can have no way of knowing and that will keep Jamie safe."

"You need to go," Ginny told him, her mind churning at the thought of the headmaster being near Jamie.

"But you and Jamie..."

"Will be fine," she soothed. "Go."

Harry risked one last look at the activity taking place in the town centre. The tree had been righted and the coloured lights repaired and Dumbledore was staring around him as if he was looking for something or someone.

Harry and Ginny hurried to Babble's Books and closed the door. "_Coloportus_," she said. The door sealed itself with an odd squelching sound.

"I'll apparate back to the conference. You will phone me if anything goes wrong. Hell, if anything goes wrong send a _Patronus_. It'll be too late by then with the town crawling with aurors and Order members. Be careful."

Ginny nodded and lifted her face for a kiss. Harry wanted to let his lips linger but knew that he could not and with a faint pop he disappeared. She sighed and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, prepared to wait out whatever was happening, her mind on the well-being of her son. A couple of minutes went by and then a couple more. It wasn't in her nature any more than it was Harry's to wait and not do something. The only time she'd ever waited for anything was for Harry. The Aurors had arrived, the Death Eaters had already started to make tracks to leave and she was sitting doing nothing. Jamie wasn't with his mother and only she or Harry could truly protect him. "Call yourself a Gryffindor," she muttered. Her mind made up, Ginny pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Caroline, it's Jenny."

"Jenny! " The relief could almost be felt all the way across the street. "We've been so worried..."

"I'm fine," she said reassuringly. "I want you to stay put and keep hold of Jamie. He's okay, isn't he?"

Caroline's voice relaxed. "Yes, he's fine. He's still sleeping. It's amazing how children can just sleep through everything..."

"Don't let anyone take him from you, even for a moment."

"But..."

Ginny interrupted her friend. "Don't let him out of your sight and when the police say you can leave, cross the street to the lane at the side of the chemist's. I'll meet you there."

"Got it. Helen and I will look after him and we'll see you soon. But we'll want an explanation about all this,"Caroline warned.

"I know and you'll get one. Thank you." Ginny doubted that she'd need to. The obliviators would do the job for her.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Dumbledore nodded to the Order members who were beginning to help the Aurors with the cleanup and obliviation of the Muggles. He had been astounded to hear that Harry had contacted Remus and warned him of the attack on the town. The boy had to be familiar with this little place. It was too much to hope that Harry would have been here but there had been no sign of him. "Point me Harry Potter," he intoned quietly. His wand twitched in his grasp but did not react as he would have hoped. He had no way of knowing that at that exact moment Harry had just apparated out of Babble's Books empty premises.

"Oh, Harry!" the old wizard murmured softly. Harry was close but his magic was either not yet strong enough or being hidden. Who would hide him? It was something to ponder on.

"We're just about finished here, Professor," Nymphadora Tonks called quietly. "They're loading the last of the injured into the ambulances. The hospital is very close and is expecting the last of the minor casualties."

"Anyone...?"

"No. They were lucky this time and we've managed to arrest Bletchly Flipkin."

Dumbledore looked surprised. "Indeed?"

"Found him lying up the steps right in front of the church door. We don't think that he's one of You-know-who's trusted inner circle but he's still useful with a wand. He'd been stunned, hexed and placed under a notice-me-not charm."

Dumbledore lifted a silver eyebrow. "One of the Order?"

"Possibly," she answered guardedly, oddly reluctant to tell him exactly which curse had been used. The Bat-bogey curse was a Weasley speciality but none of the Weasleys had been present on this occasion and she would swear after a pint of Veritaserum that he'd been left that way for a while. There was another witch or wizard in the town and she was sure that it was Ginny Weasley. If Ginny was there, Harry wouldn't be far behind. "Director Bones asked if you would help with the obliviations because...?"

"Time is running out," he finished for her. "Gas explosion?" It was a standard excuse against Death Eater attacks.

Tonks shook her head. "No, not this time."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Disaffected youth running amok – throwing fireworks and homemade explosives. There was an incident a _couple of months ago_ not far out of town according to the police files. I've got the information all about it, Professor, and I think you'll find it _interesting_ reading."

"Ah!" Dumbledore understood what she was inferring. "Where would Amelia like me to help?"

Tonks pointed towards a series of shops and cafes where frightened faces could be seen peering through the windows. "There were quite a number of witnesses. They need to be dealt with before they start making a run for it."

"Harvey and Blowfield have begun the obliviations?" Dumbledore asked mildly.

"Yes. They've started at the other end of the High Street and are working their way towards the town centre."

Dumbledore smiled. "Good, good. I will speak to you when you come off duty, Nymphadora."

The metamorphmagus gritted her teeth. "It's Tonks," she growled but the headmaster had already begun walking to the nearest establishment, a crowded cafe, where anxious faces peered warily through the large windows.

"Is it over?" a shaking elderly voice quavered from beneath a white plastic tablecloth as Dumbledore entered the building.

Dumbledore infused as many calming notes into his voice as he could. "Yes, dear lady. Everything is fine." His eyes swept the cafe taking in the frightened Muggles cowering behind chairs and under tables. The visual sweep travelled across an attractive blonde woman holding a child in her arms and moved on. The old wizard paused and back-tracked to the blonde woman, his eyebrows rising in surprise. The child sleeping in her arms was giving off an extremely strong magical signal and he couldn't recall a magical child of that age being present in this area of Scotland. This little one was going to be a very powerful wizard one day.

"Some of today's youth..." Dumbledore let his words tail off, his eyes taking in the sight of the dark-haired child, thick dark lashes resting on flushed cheeks. He began again. "Some of today's youth have no consideration for others and decided to run rampant through your Christmas market."

"But it wasn't..." Caroline began indignantly. "The man that started doing...stuff," she continued awkwardly, "was older than I am." It had been hard enough to understand exactly what had been happening, let alone having to explain it to someone else without sounding stupid. Caroline's only explanation was that it was like magic.

And Jenny was somehow involved. Caroline caught Helen's anxious expression and knew that she too was remembering the floating toy.

"I will inform the police," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Who are you?" asked Helen, staring suspiciously at the colourful robes Dumbledore was wearing. "You don't look like a policeman." She thought that he looked like something from a fantasy film.

"I'm not exactly a policeman but I am heavily involved in security matters as a sort of outside consultant. Everything is being dealt with. We will catch the perpetrators, don't you worry."

"It was like magic." Helen echoed her friend's words. "Like nothing I've ever seen before. It reminded me of special effects in films." Policeman or not, it was something of a relief to be able to describe the unsettling events that they had witnessed and the strangely garbed man exuded a calming energy that made her feel he understood what she was trying to say."

"Ah, yes, it might have resembled that," the wizard reassured Helen. His attention returned to the sleeping child cradled protectively in his mother's arms. "What is your baby's name?" he asked Caroline gently.

"He's not... Ow!" Caroline stopped speaking as Helen stomped none too gently on her foot. "He's not a baby," she muttered. "He's almost two and he's called Jamie."

"When he's a little older, he and I will meet again. Until that day, I'm afraid that you are not ready to know of the magical world." The old man gave a small wave of his hand murmuring "_Obliviate_" and the last few frightening hours just faded away.

Albus smiled and disillusioned himself before apparating away to the sound of a phone ringing.

"It's Jenny!" said Helen. "She got stuck in the chemist's when those yobs started throwing things around."

Caroline frowned. "Was that what happened?"

Helen listened to the voice on the other end. "Jenny's going to come across and meet us and collect Jamie...Okay, we'll start walking slowly...yes. You want to get home before it gets really dark." She put the phone back in her pocket. "I think she was frantic, if you ask me. She's very protective of that wee boy."

Caroline placed Jamie back into the pushchair. "Aww...look at him. He never even moved."

They walked past the fountain pushing the chair and watching for Jenny's slight figure. "There she is," said Helen.

Halfway down the street, someone else was carefully watching the small group with interest.

31


	30. Chapter 30

**The Unbreakable Vow 30**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.**

**As always my thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

The behaviour patterns of dark wizards never ceased to amaze Nymphadora Tonks but why they would hit such a small town with no major magical connections just didn't make sense. There had to be another reason. She would make her official report later but she had a hunch she wanted to follow first. As the last of the wizards investigating the disturbance popped back to wherever they had come from she decided to hang around a little longer.

There was something about the neat dispatch of Bletchly Flipkin that made her auror's aura twitch.

Kingsley Shacklebolt finished making notes on a large piece of parchment. He gave it a tap with his wand and it promptly rolled itself up and disappeared. He looked around for his young colleague and fellow Order of the Phoenix member and spotted her behind the Christmas tree staring at the spot where they'd come across one Bletchly Flipkin, his Death Eater status confirmed by the presence of the usual 'snake and skull' tattoo on his left arm.

"You coming, Tonks?" called the tall black auror. "Everything's done. The muggles have all been obliviated and where necessary had their memories modified. They now think that a group of disaffected youths ran amok and ruined the Christmas market."

"Later," she called back, her eyes apparently fixed on one of the gaudily decorated shop displays. "There's a shop back there selling something I think my father might like as a Christmas present. Believe me, he's murder to shop for. If I see something that will do for him I just get it and the problem is solved. Anyway, I'm off duty now but I'll pop my report in sometime tomorrow."

"That would be good. We'll see what we can get from Flipkin without the Veritaserum but I'm not holding my breath that he'll cooperate fully with the MLE. Apparently, he's not one of the 'Inner Circle' and therefore I'm not expecting to find out anything of any value."

Tonks frowned. "Maybe not but surely he would know why he was here?"

"That would be something – that's if there _is_ a reason. We'll have to get permission from Amelia if we want to use Veritaserum and then there are all sorts of legalities to go through although it could be worth it." Kingsley pulled the edges of his muggle-style jacket together. "Enjoy your shopping."

Tonks grinned. "They'll never believe it – my parents, that is. I'm usually so disorganised and last-minute about things like that."

Kingsley gave a deep chuckle. "It goes with the job. The things like shopping can often fall by the wayside. If you see anything for me, I'm sure I'll like whatever you're getting for me - especially if involves the words 'fire' and 'whisky'. I'll probably see you at headquarters tomorrow."

"You think you deserve a gift for all those late shifts you made me work?" Tonks grinned at her boss. "Has Dumbledore called a meeting?"

"Not yet," he murmured with a smile. "But by using my superior divination skills, I would guess that there might be one very soon." He slipped into the shadows of the large church, sketched her a wave and apparated away.

Tonks was left standing behind the Christmas tree where one of the lights flickered wildly and swung back and forth on its thin wire. She walked slowly around the now quiet area. The clean-up and obliviation team had done an efficient job as usual. Blending into the shadows around the church steps she brought out her wand and, laying it flat on the palm of her hand, said quietly, "point me, Ginny Weasley." This spell had its limitations but if Ginny was as close as she thought she was, it could prove beneficial. The wand spun and jerked in her grasp before settling in the direction of a young woman with long dark curls hurrying past the large circular fountain.

Tonks gave a silent gasp. That was Ginny Weasley? She peered through the gathering gloom at the young woman. The hair was long and dark, spilling from a knitted woollen cap over her shoulders to her waist. The Weasley red hair was so distinctive that it would have made people take notice, thought Tonks. It was a simple but effective disguise and coming from a metamorphmagus that was quite a compliment.

She hadn't expected to have her hunch confirmed so quickly, if at all. Blurring her features into that of an older woman and her hair to a nondescript brown, she continued to watch the girl's progress as she made her way over the cobbled street. Before she could approach Ginny, the younger witch reached two woman who were standing and chatting, one of them with a child in a pushchair. She heard them greet one another before Ginny bent down to drop a kiss on the child's cheek.

"Did you see what happened?" asked one of the women – a pretty blonde wrapped up in a warm coat.

"No, not much. I got stuck in the chemist's. I could hear quite a bit and it sounded awful," Ginny replied. "I was ready to crawl under the makeup counter."

"It _was_ awful," said the blonde woman. "Imagine, those idiots almost knocking over the Christmas tree. They should be locked up or made to do community service for a long time. All they wanted to do was cause trouble."

"The tree seems to be alright now," murmured Ginny, her eyes tracking the twenty foot tree right to the star on top.

"Yes, they fixed it very quickly," the blonde agreed.

"So they should. It's Christmas." Ginny fixed her gaze on the child in the push chair. Tonks had to strain to hear her as she bent over the sleeping child and adjusted the woolly hat he wore. "Was he...?"

"Slept all the way through it," said the second woman with a chuckle.

"Well, he'd better wake up soon or he'll never sleep tonight." She smiled down at the child. "Hey, sweetheart...you need to wake up. _Ennervate_!"

"What did you say?" asked the dark-haired woman.

Ginny chuckled. "I just told him that he'd need to wake up. Look..."

Small hands clothed in striped, knitted mittens waved in the air and the woman all laughed.

There was more conversation before the pushchair was transferred to Ginny who, with a final wave to the other two, walked away in the opposite direction.

Tonks blinked and hastened to follow. Ginny had to be looking after the child for the evening. The auror could hear her singing and talking to the child as they made their way up one of the side streets. She quickened her steps, taking extra care not to trip over her own feet. Her reputation for clumsiness was not unfounded but it all seemed to vanish in battle when she showed true grace.

Ginny headed for the car park, singing quietly to Jamie as she did so, trying to banish her lingering sense of unease. It was a long time since she'd felt so exposed and so close to her real world. This brought the danger she'd been able to ignore for so long back with a vengeance. She moved quickly, eager to reach the door into the car park. It was the unexpected feeling of a wand against her neck that was the only other warning that she was not the only non-muggle around.

"If I wasn't a friend," a low voice murmured, "you would be in a lot more trouble, Ginny Weasley. What happened to 'Constant Vigilance?'"

Ginny's mind went momentarily blank before feeling a strange tightness squeeze at her chest. She fought the feelings of dizziness and terror, her mind switching to calculating as she turned her head and met the steely gaze of a dumpy, middle-aged woman she'd never met in her life – one whose features were morphing before her very eyes.

The strange woman was replaced by the familiar sight of a head of shocking pink hair, surrounding a heart-shaped face.

"Tonks," Ginny managed to squeeze out through dry lips. They could all be in serious trouble now.

"Hello, Ginny."

There was an awkward silence as both women stared at one another under the yellow glow of the street lamp. It was almost dark now – the days were short as far north as they were at this time of year.

"You're well?" asked Ginny stiltedly.

"Yes, but making polite conversation isn't what I want to do to you right now," snapped the auror.

"You want to hex me six ways from Sunday?" A tinge of amusement entered Ginny's voice. "It's not a good idea as I would have to retaliate and we're in a muggle street."

"No, I suppose not." Tonks didn't quite know what to say or do. The Auror training manual hadn't covered this situation.

"How did you manage to find me?" Ginny asked eventually, easing her wand into her hand. She could obliviate Tonks and make a run for it - or she could try. Tonks was gripping her own wand with the intent to use it if Ginny tried anything silly.

"A hunch," said Tonks with a shrug. "A hunch and a captured Death Eater who'd been hit with a Bat-bogey hex, followed by a stunning spell."

"What has that to do with me?" Ginny didn't think that she could fool Tonks - the auror was far from stupid - but still, she had to try.

Tonks gave her one of those 'Are you off your trolley' kind of looks. "The Bat-bogey hex is a Weasley speciality. Bill taught it to you before you went to Hogwarts. I don't know many other wizards with that particular spell as part of their regular arsenal. Yours is particularly powerful."

"You got lucky." Ginny dismissed. "Didn't you have aurors cleaning things up?"

"Yes, but I was quite certain that death eater had been hit before any of us arrived. My hunch has paid off, Ginny. You're standing here in front of me. That's proof enough."

"Oh!" Ginny looked nonplussed for a moment. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing...yet. I didn't tell anyone what I saw today but I will have to make a report by tomorrow."

"It doesn't give me very much time to decide what to do," Ginny muttered bitterly. Once she would have attacked and made a run for it but she couldn't do that with Jamie and there was the new baby to think about. However if there was no other choice then she would fight.

"You can chat about it with Harry...perhaps."

"H...Harry!" Ginny's eyes widened. "Why would I be able to chat with Harry?" She gave a laugh but it sounded strained. "You think Harry's with me? It's ridiculous. Why? I haven't seen Harry since I left..."

"Harry gave Remus the information about the attack," Tonks explained, her shrewd eyes taking note of every nuance of expression on the younger witch's face.

"Harry did?"

Tonks nodded grimly. "Harry did and it's not 'ridiculous' at all. Harry was in love with you and would have done anything to help you escape from Malfoy. In fact, he did help you escape from Malfoy as it would have been almost impossible for you to do this on your own."

"Are you saying that I'm helpless?" Ginny asked in outrage.

"Don't be stupid, Ginny. I've seen you in combat situations. But you are a pureblood witch and have never lived as a muggle. I've never lived as a muggle even though my father is muggle-born – I've never had to. Remus got a tip-off from a friend saying there was someone who looked like Harry in his shop. Remus checked up on it and it was Harry all right. While he was there, someone – a female - contacted Harry to tell him about the arrival of the Death Eaters. I think you were the contact because Remus felt that the voice was familiar. I acted on my hunch and here you are."

"You've no real proof," Ginny declared.

"Of course I do," snapped Tonks. "You and your reactions are the proof."

There was a whimper from the pushchair as Jamie, having been ignored for too long, in his nineteenth-month-old opinion, as the two witches talked, made his presence felt. Ginny immediately dropped to her knees. "Ssh, sweetheart." She looked up at Tonks. "I don't think we should stay out in the open any longer. The temperature is dropping."

Tonks muttered a quick warming spell under her breath. "I would agree. Where are we going to go to talk this over?"

She shook her head as she made a decision, hoping that her husband wouldn't be too annoyed at this development. But her reckless Gryffindor husband needed to be given the same wake-up call that she'd just experienced. How long would it be before Dumbledore had the Order staking out the town centre? How long would it be before the wizarding world encroached upon their safe little lives? Their real lives were calling to them more strongly than ever. "You found me. What's the chance that someone else might make the connection that quickly, too? You'd better come with me." Reluctance dripped from every syllable.

"Where?" The young auror gave Ginny a doubtful look. "Is that wise?"

"For you it's a question of trust, perhaps, and for me it's necessity." Ginny looked at Tonks, her gaze deliberately sliding to the wand in the auror's hand. "You're not going to let me go without answers and I am not prepared to keep Jamie out in the cold air any longer." She scowled. "You're going to have to come home with me."

Tonks shot a look at the infant in the chair. It was difficult to get a proper look at it owing to the mound of clothing it was bundled up in. "Can't you return the kid to whomever it belongs to?" she asked. "And is it a boy or a girl?"

Ginny's mouth dropped open. "Return the kid!" she echoed, drawing herself up proudly. "I don't want to return him. That would be really hard to do as he's my son – not an 'it'." Ginny waited for the knut to drop.

Nymphadora Tonks could honestly swear that she heard ringing in her ears. "Y...your son?"

The situation was kind of amusing, Ginny thought. "Whose son did you think he was? Did you wonder why I was walking around with a pushchair? I'm not doing it for kicks, I can tell you. I assure you, Tonks, I didn't kidnap him. He's my son and I'm taking him home. You can come with me or stay here." She stood up and turned around, glaring at the metamorphmagus. "That's your choice. My car is this way. And if you come with me there's no magic until I say so."

"But, Ginny..."

"It's up to you. If you want your information that's the deal," Ginny stated firmly.

Numbly, Tonks followed the younger witch towards a small red car fitted with a child's safety seat and watched as Ginny lifted the child from the pushchair. The child chuckled and waved his tiny arms, his fingers grasping for his mother's curls.

"He's always been a good baby," Ginny confessed awkwardly, pulling Jamie's hands from her hair with a wince, "apart from the occasional magical tantrum or two. He knows what he wants but he doesn't always get what he wants."

"Hence the magical tantrums," put in Tonks, staring in fascination at the child's thick dark lashes framing familiar green eyes. She would bet every last sickle in her next salary that the child was Harry's. "Ginny..."

"I'm a very good mother," the younger witch said.

Tonks held her hands up in surrender. "I never said that you weren't but Ginny..." She stopped, gathering her thoughts before ploughing on. "Merlin! He looks like..."

Ginny finished strapping Jamie into the car seat, collapsed the pushchair and stowed it in the boot. "Don't say anything else. Not here and not now," she said fiercely. "Wait until we get out of here and I hope you're the only witch or wizard hanging around."

Tonks' hair darkened to a vivid purple. "They all left apart from me, I promise you. And, as I said, I'm not expected back at HQ with my report until tomorrow."

"Don't make promises you cannot keep," snapped Ginny. "Get in and fasten your seatbelt. I want to get home. I've had a hell of a day." She moved around the car and climbed into the driver's seat, pulling the door closed with an angry click. "Well...?"

Tonks gave a swift glance around the almost deserted car park and moved into the seat next to Ginny. "I'm in."

"Fasten your seat belt," muttered Ginny as she started the ignition and steered the car out of the car park.

"You're driving like a muggle!" Tonks exclaimed in astonishment. "How do I...? Oh, I see." She pulled her belt across her body and fastened it with a faint click.

Ginny's lip curled. "How else am I supposed to drive? Apparitions can be traced. I've been living like a muggle for nearly five years and it's a muggle car."

Tonks gave a rueful chuckle and stared at the controls with interest. "I never really considered that."

"Car!" Jamie chanted from the back seat.

"Is he really...?" Tonks stuttered to a stop.

Ginny cast her another amused look. "His name is Jamie, he's nineteen months old and, yes, he's really mine. I wouldn't go back to life without him."

"Ginny..."

"I'm usually called Jenny around here. It's close enough to my real name but different enough to make it hard to find me. It's been over five years..."

"But... a child, Ginny?"

"Why not?" Ginny grinned. "We chose to have him – it wasn't an accident. Yes, we've been hiding but we refuse to stop living. He's a proper boy and he likes anything that moves. Cars, lorries, tractors..." There was a garbled shout of something that might have been the word 'tractor' from the little boy and he continued to talk cheerful nonsense to himself for the rest of the journey. "We're a family," she stated firmly.

Ginny drove out of the town over the railway bridge, heading to the south past neat little houses with cheerful Christmas lights shining in the dark. Tonks noted that she seemed at ease behind the wheel, her movements deft and sure. "Where are we going?"

"We don't live in town," Ginny said. "There are too many people around. The house is quite isolated and we like it that way."

"What about Harry?" pleaded Tonks, hoping the other witch might let something slip now that they were alone. She'd said 'we' and that could just have meant her and the child but she didn't really think that. "Do you know where he is? I'm on your side, Ginny."

But Ginny refused to say anything about Harry until they reached a safer location which for the Potters was behind goblin and blood-based wards. Instead, she gave Tonks what she considered to be more useful information. "When the Death Eaters apparated into town, I thought at first that they had finally found me. But I was wrong. They weren't looking for me at all. They were searching for Snape. He's done something to piss them off."

Tonks looked at Ginny's profile. "Snape!"

"Yes. Our surly Death Eater turned spy. They thought he was dead but when they failed to find a body they decided that he's not as dead as they thought he was and they're looking for him," Ginny murmured, flicking the indicator as she turned off the main road into a smaller one. "Probably to finish off the job they started. He's a marked man in more ways than the obvious one." The car trundled down the slightly bumpy road until they took another turn-off with an arrow sign marked 'Shielhill'. Ginny slowed the car to a stop and turned her head to look at Tonks. Even Jamie had ceased his cheerful chatter and was watching the adults, sensitive to the strange shift in mood between them. "If they do find out where he is, then I don't give much hope for his chances of staying alive."

"Why have we stopped here?" Tonks could only see darkness ahead of her. The road was narrow with overhanging trees stretching out on either side. There was no comforting sign of any human habitation.

Ginny ignored the question and turned her head to look at Tonks. "You said that you had a report to complete. What will you put in it? Who will you tell?"

Tonks sighed. "Your family for one – they've been so worried about you and Molly will love Jamie. I should also tell the Order – most of your family are in the Order - and of course, that means Dumbledore..."

"What about the Ministry?" Ginny's voice was careful. The Ministry meant that her brother, Percy, and the Malfoy family would find out. She knew that the marriage contract was worthless but if Lucius still had the Ministry in his pocket, then she was still in danger.

Tonks knew what Ginny was thinking. "I could arrange to leave them out of it for the time being. No one has to know that there was an extra witch in town. I could discuss it with Kingsley."

"You can't tell anyone where we are," Ginny said quietly. "If you do, then history will repeat itself. I must protect my family – I must protect my son."

"Ginny..." Tonks shook her head.

"You will find it rather difficult, if not impossible, to give away our location but just knowing anything puts us all at risk. Here." Ginny jabbed at the overhead light with a sharp finger and thrust a slip of paper into Tonks' hand. "Read this."

"Harry, Ginny and Jamie Potter live at Shielhill Cottage," read Tonks, her words slowing in dawning surprise. "Married!" she exclaimed. "You and Harry are married and live under a Fidelius and..."

"Yes." Ginny said shortly. She snapped off the light and started the car again. Ahead, a set of large metal gates gleamed against the car's headlights.

"They weren't there before...those gates...and now they are," breathed Tonks. "It's just like Grimmauld Place."

Ginny pressed a switch on the dashboard of her car and the gates swung smoothly open.

"Was that magic?"

"Nah. Harry got one of those remote control thingies. It's electric – muggle magic." Ginny gave a relaxed chuckle as the gates swung closed behind them. "I don't really understand how it works but I aim the gadget at the gates and they open. No gadget and they stay shut." The car continued to trundle its way up the bumpy drive, the headlights lighting up the edges of the trees. "Here we are," Ginny announced, thankfulness in her voice as she turned off the engine. "Home."

Tonks climbed from the car, breathed in the crisp, clean air and took in the appearance of the cottage. "It's lovely, Ginny."

"It is, I agree." The lights shining in the windows gave the place a welcoming air. "We've been very happy here and that's going to continue," she finished fiercely. "This is our home. Harry and I married four years ago and that's the way we're going to stay."

"Of course," agreed Tonks, although inside she wondered. There were a lot of things stacked against the happiness of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley and now that there was a child in the mix... She gave a sigh. She needed to talk to someone like Kingsley or Remus. There was no guarantee that they would know what to do but at least they could try and work something out. She never thought that Harry and Ginny would go against the Ministry contract and get married. There was no telling what the Malfoys would do once this became common knowledge. "Ginny, are you sure this is the right thing to do? There could be real trouble for the three of you. You've brought a child into this."

Ginny unlocked the door and ushered Tonks inside. Jamie was placed on the floor, divested of his outdoor clothing and left to toddle towards his toys.

Ten minutes later, Tonks had had the tour of the house and was sitting at the large kitchen table nursing a cup of tea as they watched Jamie wander around the room on slightly unsteady legs, clutching something soft and furry that may have resembled a dragon. "This is not a wizarding home," she commented lightly. "Reminds me of my Granny Tonks place except more up-to-date. My dad was raised muggle...but you're a witch, Ginny."

"I'm a witch living as a muggle, remember?" murmured Ginny, with an anxious glance at the clock. Harry shouldn't be long she hoped. "No magic."

"You've really been doing that?" asked Tonks. "Living as a muggle?"

"Yes." Ginny gave a little shrug. "Harry was used to living as a muggle and I learned from him – even after five years I have to be careful. Dumbledore..." She gave a sneer that would have made Snape proud. "Dumbledore sent him to his awful relatives every summer."

"Were they really that bad?" Tonks clutched her mug tightly, suddenly feeling chilled.

"Worse," stated Ginny succinctly. "But that's all in the past. Harry's never going near them again. He's twenty-five for Merlin's sake, not twelve, and Dumbledore should remember that. This house has kept us safe for four years and that was _before_ the wards went up."

Jamie made his way to Ginny and held up his arms. "Up!" he announced.

"James Arthur Potter, you are such a nosy parker," Ginny said lovingly as she plonked the child upon her lap. "You just want to hear what's going on, don't you? This is Auntie Nymphadora..."

"Ginny..."

"Auntie Nymphadora is a metamorphmagus, Jamie. It's a very long word which means that Auntie Dora can do funny things with her face. Maybe if you're a good boy then she'll show you." Ginny smiled at her son, who giggled up at her.

"Why, Ginny, why?" whispered Tonks as she stared at the young witch cuddling the child. "Why go against the contract. Your magic..." Ron's question from the last Order meeting surfaced in her mind. _"What happens if Harry doesn't want to come home?"_

"No one had the right to take me from Harry," snapped Ginny. "No one. Harry's been used from the moment of his birth. I know of very few people who have put Harry first for the right reasons apart from Sirius and myself. Dumbledore can take his 'greater good' and shove it where a _Lumos_ wouldn't work. Harry's magic..."

"I heard about the spell," Tonks interrupted hastily. "Dumbledore finally told us what happened and don't call me Nymphadora."

Ginny's eyes widened. "He told you? The old man actually told you?"

"Too many people were asking questions. He explained why Harry lost his magic but was unwilling to divulge the exact spell. I don't think he had any choice in telling us, really. Fleur had heard about the spell from her 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' classes at Beauxbatons and was quite happy to share all that she knew."

Ginny laughed derisively. "Oh! The headmaster wouldn't be too happy about that. He would suddenly think that we're all off to practise the most foul 'Dark Arts' curses on the next unsuspecting Slytherin that we meet." Jamie wriggled in her grasp and she placed him back down on his feet murmuring softly, "Your toys are through there, darling."

Tonks watched the little boy wander off before turning back to the younger witch. "Some of the Order members got very upset on your behalf – your brother, Ron, for one."

"A bit late now," Ginny muttered cynically. The time they'd needed the help was five years ago. "Hell, Tonks," she bit out angrily. "Harry should have been taken care of properly from the moment his parents died. I could understand the need to keep him away from fame and those in the Ministry who would use him for their own agendas but to completely abandon him in the way that he did, Dumbledore treated Harry like a weapon, not a child. When Harry's magic deserted him, he was given no other choice but to live in the muggle world - forcibly if need be. I was going to be sold to the nearest Death Eater to bolster my brother, Percy's, ambitions. Oh, and perhaps I could spy on my new 'husband's' Death Eater family while I was there. No one apart from Harry and perhaps the twins, tried to do anything to help me. I encouraged them because I wasn't willing to tamely succumb to that particular fate."

"You said it yourself. Harry was used to life as a muggle."

Ginny snorted. "Yes, but Dumbledore," she spat, "wasn't going to let him choose where he was sent. He was going to gently persuade his aunt and uncle to give him cupboard space once more."

"That was mentioned," Tonks admitted. "But not about a cupboard."

"Harry spent ten years of his life with a pokey cupboard-under-the-stairs as a bedroom until he got his Hogwarts letter," Ginny snarled between clenched teeth. "Dumbledore never checked up on him once to see how his relatives were treating him. After he received his Hogwarts letter, the Dursleys grudgingly gave him his cousin's second bedroom."

Tonks' mouth dropped open in shock. "But Harry's an adult now. Surely..."

"Dumbledore has his ways, like Voldemort, of ensuring compliance."

The metamorphmagus paled, her hair reverting momentarily to a dull mousy brown. "He wouldn't."

Ginny sneered. "Wouldn't he? If it was all for the greater good - wouldn't he? Never mind that it wasn't for Harry's good."

"I...I..." Tonks closed her mouth looking defeated. The headmaster had practically admitted that very thing to the Order.

"Well?"

There were many ways in the wizarding world of ensuring compliance as they both knew.

Tonks swallowed. "I'm sorry. If it makes anything any better, the Headmaster appeared to be truly unhappy about it all."

"I'm sure he is." Ginny's voice was hard. "You know what the prophecy says. It wouldn't stop Dumbledore from doing the exact same thing all over again. We did not want to give him the chance. Dumbledore did not help Harry when he was cursed."

"I knew that Harry still loved you five years ago," Tonks admitted quietly. "I could see you circling one another – getting closer and closer. He only broke up with you to save you from harm."

"I know that. Harry and I love one another too deeply to remain apart. That is why we did what we did. It was for the same reason. I let him break up with me until he was ready for us to be together permanently. He was the one I wanted and he was the one I was going to get. I know my husband – I always have. My brother Percy's actions pushed us back together quicker than anticipated." Ginny's smile turned wicked. "Maybe I should send him a letter of thanks. But, as you know, magic leaves a trace so I had to live as a muggle also and that was a lot more difficult."

"But Harry's magic - how bad is it?"

"Not so dead as some might think." Ginny's mouth curved into a chilly smile. "Don't get me wrong, Harry's situation _was_ extremely serious. But I'll let him tell you all about it himself. He shouldn't be long," she muttered as she glanced up at the clock on the wall. "And I'm not sure how happy he'll be that you're here."

"Where is he?"

"At work, actually. Some conference or other. He doesn't usually work on a Saturday – something to do with a new computer system."

Tonks took note of the information. "You need to tell your family that you're safe and well."

"I suppose I do." Ginny gave a smirk that Tonks didn't understand.

"Ginny, they still don't know that you're alive. They've been worried..."

There was a sudden ringing sound from the corner of the kitchen. "Excuse me, Tonks, that's probably my husband ringing now." She headed for the telephone and picked up the receiver, placing it against her ear. "Where are you?" Her face lit up. "Good. I'll put the potatoes on."

"Harry?" asked Tonks as Ginny replaced the receiver.

Ginny nodded. "He'll be here in half-an-hour. He's just dropped off his colleague and is on his way home."

"The Order will really step up their efforts to find Harry now," Tonks warned. "You've given them too many clues and they know where to look."

"That's nothing we didn't expect," Ginny murmured with a shrug of her shoulders. "We knew we were going to have to come out into the open at some point. Normal muggle life as we knew it will cease."

"The Order managed to see some of Snape's impressions of his rescue," Tonks offered. "Snape thought at first that Harry was James Potter coming to guide him into the afterlife."

Ginny dropped the potato she'd started to peel into the sink. "You _are _joking!"

Tonks smile was evil. "No, I'm not. The wizard he hated almost as much as You-know-who was the first person to welcome him to his 'next great adventure'? Then he eventually realised that it was Harry and not James?"

"How?"

"His eyes. He has...his mother's eyes."

Ginny located her lost vegetable and finished peeling it. "That's some sense of poetic irony. Snape would have been crosser than a bat caught in a pile of hippogriff dung at the thought of Harry saving his life."

"Flobberworm innards," muttered Tonks. "The amount of the disgusting slimy things I had to dissect for him during detentions." She looked up at Ginny, her tone wry. "My natural grace manifested itself many times during Potions. I lost Hufflepuff many points."

"I didn't know you were in Hufflepuff," Ginny said as she started rummaging in the freezer for the pie she'd made last week.

"I suppose you thought I was in Gryffindor?" Tonks watched with interest as Ginny cooked in a completely muggle fashion.

"Well, yes. But it doesn't matter which house you were in at school."

Tonks shook her head. "Have you had that conversation with your brother? He still thinks all Slytherins are embryonic Death Eaters."

Ginny made a face. "True. Ron is a stubborn, thick git on that subject. But Harry and I just think of Pettigrew and that he was in Gryffindor. We're not saying that we like Snape but you can't help admiring the man's courage. It can't have been easy doing what he had to do. He's lucky he wasn't found out long ago."

"Harry _did_ save Snape's life – the Death Eaters left him to die." Tonks was serious. "Dumbledore was surprised to find Snape practically gift-wrapped for the Hogwarts infirmary at the gates and, even more, did not expect Harry to be Snape's saviour. Your husband's magic has to have recovered rather better than the norm because he managed to safely portkey Snape all the way to Hogwarts and once the old man is thinking clearly he'll realise that."

"It's a horrible curse," whispered Ginny. "Horrible. It left Harry so vulnerable. But he didn't sit around doing nothing - he chose to act."

Tonks moved to the younger witch and patted her gently on the shoulder. "He's Harry Potter and has come through more difficulties than any other wizard I know. What more is there to say? Expect the impossible?" She gave a sudden grin. "I've just had a thought. Snape's still going to be mad but able to stew over it and nurture his grudge as he's still alive. He was rescued by a Potter once more. He _owes_ Harry and he's not going to like it."

Ginny paused for a second. "I guess he does. Although my darling husband would say it was the opposite way around. Snape saved his life on more than one occasion." She fiddled with a small device with a dial on the front. "It's a timer," she said, noting Tonks' curious look. "I'm giving the pie thirty minutes to cook. Harry should be home by then. You _will _stay for dinner?"

Tonks nodded. "I would like to see Harry and if you're half the cook your mother is..."

"I'm not in her league," Ginny admitted, "but I'm not too bad. Harry's the better cook, if you want my honest opinion. He used to do a lot of the meal prep for those horrible relatives of his. We usually share the cooking – it's fun."

Tonks moved through to the family room to check on the child. Now that she knew who he was, the toddler couldn't be mistaken for anyone other than a Potter although there was a sweep of Ginny across his face when he smiled. "Your son is gorgeous," she said a little enviously as she returned to the kitchen.

Ginny smiled. "He is...most of the time. We're very lucky."

"Dad!" Jamie squealed and took off as fast as his little legs would carry him as the sound of the front door opening and shutting resounded through the house.

"Stay there, Tonks," Ginny ordered as the other witch stood up. "I'll tell Harry that you're here." She checked the potatoes once more and followed her son to the front hallway.

Tonks could hear Jamie's excited chatter and the soft murmur of voices before the kitchen door opened and Harry Potter stood before her with Jamie in his arms.

"Tonks," he said stiffly, placing the child back on his feet and watching him as he headed back towards his favourite toys. He watched as the witch shifted nervously, fiddling with a curly strand of hair as it shifted wildly between various lurid colours.

"Oh, Harry!" the auror cried and then leapt to her feet almost overturning the chair she'd been sitting on as she threw herself at him. "It's good to see you - really good to see you. We thought that you were dead – both of you. And now you're here with Ginny and you have a baby and..."

Harry patted her back as he looked almost helplessly over Tonks' shoulder at his silently amused wife. "It's good to see you too, Dora. How did you come to be here?"

"I was in Elgin on behalf of the Auror corps helping to sort out the scum that decided to attack the town. I followed up a little hunch I had and it led me to your wife and son. I always suspected that you and Ginny were together. You wouldn't have left her to fend for herself and..."

Harry smiled proudly at the mention of his son. "We're a proper family now," he said. "And no one is taking that family away from me. We're happy."

"Harry..." Tonks said hesitantly. "You know this idyll can't continue. You have to come back to the wizarding world. You-know-who will search for you until he finds you."

Harry's face changed. "My family comes first, Dora," he hissed warningly. "No one can take them away from me – I will not allow it. The Malfoy wedding contract is bogus. Ginny was mine long before Malfoy decided he wanted her. Ginny is mine and I am hers. We belong to one another."

Tonks looked totally bewildered. "There was another contract?" she asked.

"Harry?" Ginny slid her arm around her husband, her touch instantly calming him. "This could wait until after we've eaten."

"You're right, sweetheart," he murmured. "We may be having more company later on." He inclined his head and gave her a knowing look.

Ginny frowned and then gave a short laugh. "You think he'll understand the message?"

"I think he will. He's not stupid by any means – once he says the password then..." Harry steered his wife back into the kitchen and after he and Tonks were seated at the large, wooden table he enquired cheekily, "what's all this I hear about you and a certain werewolf?"

Tonks stared at Harry in amazement. "How did you know _that_? We're just really close friends...nothing much has happened. I think he likes me but he's..." She flushed.

"I'd heard that you were a lot closer than friends." Harry smirked.

"I forget that you're a grownup, Harry, and I shouldn't," Tonks muttered ruefully. Her hair shimmered briefly to blue before returning to its original pink.

"I may have lived away from the wizarding world for five years but I still have my sources and no, I'm not telling you what they are. Remus has lived for so long with his condition that he is used to pushing women away. You may have to take the initiative, Dora, and move into Grimmauld Place permanently."

"I have moved in...I think...but Remus is...." She sighed. "You're right. He tries to push me away and...and don't call me 'Dora'," Tonks snapped defensively.

Harry grinned. "I like it and it suits you. But if you prefer I could give you your full first name..." He tailed off, his eyes sparkling wickedly.

"Funny," she muttered. "Your wife has already introduced me to your son using my full name"

Harry leant forward, his face earnest. "I mean it, Tonks. Life is too short to waste. Look at what happened to my parents and to Sirius. Putting everything on hold is letting Voldemort win. If you want the old wolf then don't give him the chance or the choice."

"Goodness, Harry," Tonks murmured, a little embarrassed. "Where did all this come from?"

"Living," he said, his face serious. "Being with Ginny and Jamie, becoming a father. I really know what's at stake, Dora, because the bad guy is still out there. Ginny and Jamie are everything to me. I would die in a heartbeat if it kept them safe. Take your pick because any of these reasons count. I'm not living without love any longer."

Ginny placed steaming plates of food on the table. "Harry, go and strap Jamie into his high chair and get the apron from the top drawer." She smiled at Tonks. "Jamie is still at the stage of wearing his dinner and we want to minimise the damage."

Harry winked at Tonks and saluted his wife. "Yes dear. I may be the 'Boy-who-lived' but in this house, I'm the 'husband-who-does-what-he's-told'."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**Grimmauld Place**

Remus Lupin turned the pages in his book without really reading them. He had a lot to think about. He was ensconced in the library at Grimmauld Place in his favourite armchair, a glass of port by his side and a cheerful fire crackling in the hearth. _Harry._ It all came back to Harry. But a Harry without magic had no chance against Voldemort.

"Remus, I thought we might have a little chat now that the Order meeting is finished," Albus Dumbledore said quietly as he entered the Grimmauld Place library. "Are you feeling any better?"

Remus turned his head and gave the Hogwarts headmaster a reserved smile. "I'm getting there, Albus. This month's transformation was particularly difficult owing to Severus being unable to make my potion after his recent difficulties with his former colleagues. It's been a while since I had to do without the calming effects of the Wolfsbane potion." He shrugged lightly. "I've grown soft under your care." He waved Albus to the other chair beside the fire.

"Nonsense, Remus. If I could have done more I would have." He levelled a serious gaze at the werewolf. "What is it you would like to say to me, Remus?"

Remus frowned. "I'm still having problems with what you did to Harry. He's had a hell of a life, Albus."

Albus's breath hitched in his throat. "I've made so many mistakes over Harry, Remus. Living with Petunia was supposed to give him a loving home as well as blood protection. I kept secrets from him because I wanted him to have a childhood. When I realised that his family did not welcome him as I'd hoped, I thought it was all for the greater good that Harry wasn't spoiled or arrogant."

The werewolf stared into the fire, his fists tightly clenched. "Do you know something? I'm sick of hearing about the 'greater good'. I want you to do something for Harry's good – just for Harry. He never had a proper childhood and that was your fault and Voldemort's fault but you could have made things better than they were and you didn't. When was the last time you saw him truly happy?"

"I..." The headmaster bowed his head.

"Because I cannot remember – I really can't remember. I pulled out my wand and actually prepared myself to stun him this afternoon. The words were on my lips."

"But you didn't say them aloud," murmured the headmaster as he stared into the softly crackling flames.

"No, because I'm not sure that I could have and he would have hated me for it." The werewolf lifted tired amber eyes. "I would have hated me for it. I'm not prepared to act against the wishes of Harry Potter for you again, Albus. Deny me Wolfsbane, refuse me employment...whatever. I should have done this a long time ago and developed a backbone. If necessary I will resign from the Order."

"Now Remus..." Albus said, dismayed. "Don't be hasty."

"No. I've had it with your greater good. Stuff Voldemort...."

"An interesting vision."

"I mean it, Albus," growled Remus.

Dumbledore held up his hands in surrender. "Peace, Remus. I do not want your resignation. Fighting amongst ourselves will aid Voldemort's cause and not our own. Severus will be well enough to start brewing Wolfsbane in time for your next transformation. All I want is to see your memory of Harry."

"The memory!" Remus exclaimed. "Why would you want to see it? I told you everything..."

Albus sighed. "You did and I trust your views about Harry but if I could see the memory for myself I might pick up something you missed."

Remus sat up stiffly. "Albus..."

"Remus," the old mage remonstrated gently. "Whatever your views on my faults I can only point out to you that Harry is still in peril. He may not want to return to us but for his own good he must. We do not know how much his magic has recovered. I do not think it can be at the level it was before Voldemort hit him with the _Magisiphonoux_ curse."

"Can you be sure? After all, he was able to create a portkey."

"Frankly, Remus?" Albus shook his head. "No, I cannot be sure. Voldemort believes that Harry is a threat and will keep coming after him until he succeeds in killing him or Harry kills Voldemort. The portkey was only one piece of magic that we saw him perform even if it was a fairly advanced spell. If Harry hasn't enough magic to defend himself then the wizarding world is indeed doomed."

The werewolf swore. "The prophecy."

"As you said, 'the prophecy'." Albus removed something from his pocket and with a tap of his wand enlarged it. Remus blinked. The old wizard had brought his Pensieve with him.

Remus placed his wand to his temple and withdrew the thin silvery strands of memory, depositing them in the Pensieve. "Perhaps he's safer where he is," he said quietly.

"I doubt it. Voldemort has returned and will grow stronger even if the _Magisiphonoux _curse has drained him of some of that power. Harry cannot remain in hiding forever – he is still connected to Tom through his scar. We need to be able to protect him."

"I wish you'd listen to yourself," snapped Remus. "You were going to send him back to Petunia even though he'd come of age. He's managed to elude our every search effort for five years." But Dumbledore had already dipped his head into the memory swirling around in the Pensieve and was only focused on the images he was seeing. Remus clenched his fists tightly and then forced himself to relax.

Dumbledore lifted his head from the basin, his resigned gaze focused on the shabbily dressed wizard in front of him. "I'm glad you did not stupefy him, Remus. He does not trust easily and never has. Count yourself lucky that Harry still trusts you. Some of us are not so fortunate."

"Whose fault is that?" asked Remus pointedly.

"Alas, much of it is mine – most of it, if I am totally honest. Again, Voldemort also must take some blame." Dumbledore sat in the chair opposite Remus and gazed into the fire. "I didn't believe in Harry like I should and began to doubt as he grew to adulthood and away from my guidance. I wanted to prevent..." He sighed. "It's all potions down the drain. I will do what I can to help him succeed."

"He looked well...thin, but well," commented Remus softly. "His father was like that. Burned up all that nervous energy and never put on weight. James, however, didn't have the perpetually anxious expression that Harry wears. Even in the darkest days of the first war against Voldemort, James never looked as if he had the entire world on his shoulders."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, long fingers steepled together. "Anderson had interesting views on Harry's employment. The boy obviously felt secure enough to go out to work like a normal muggle would."

"Yes, he thought that Harry looked like an office worker. The suit..." Remus looked at his hands for a moment. "And the wedding ring?"

Dumbledore frowned. "Yes. That's not a development I would have foreseen but such things can be checked. If it is a real marriage, not simply a gold ring on the appropriate finger, there will be paperwork somewhere. One way in which our two societies are alike is the need for form filling. I'll get Hermione on to that one."

"It's Ginny Weasley," stated Remus. "He's married Ginny or it's a pretence to aid in their disguise in the muggle world. The voice on the phone sounded familiar."

Dumbledore didn't look surprised. "Yes, I think you are correct. They had a clever plan to escape their respective difficulties and were more ingenious than even I suspected. I did not expect Harry to exhibit such patience and cunning but then, the sorting hat did want to put him in Slytherin."

Remus's mouth dropped open in shock. "Harry in Slytherin?"

Dumbledore nodded. "But he'd met Draco Malfoy in Diagon Alley and found out that Voldemort had been a member of that house. As a result he asked to be placed away from Slytherin. The Sorting Hat chose to put him in Gryffindor, which is where he truly belonged. Harry would not have risked a muggle's well-being even if he did love her." Dumbledore didn't look surprised.

"_Especially_ if he loved her," Remus declared. "Harry has nobility down to a fine art. He stepped away from Ginny once before, regretting it all the time. He did it to keep her safe from all those who would target her because of him but some things went too far for him to let slide. He would not sacrifice the woman he loved to the danger of the Malfoys."

"It is unfortunate that she has been contracted to the Malfoys," said the headmaster thoughtfully. "They will not allow this current marriage to stand and will go to the Wizengamot to demand its dissolution. That is, if it is a real marriage."

"Unfortunate!" Remus shouted. "Albus, it's more than _unfortunate_. It's a tragedy for _both_ of them. Maybe Harry had the right idea after all of leaving. If the Malfoys never get hold of either of them, there is nothing they can do and meanwhile we try and make the first decent attempt at breaking this bloody contract."

Dumbledore sighed. "I'm sorry, Remus, that I cannot give you better news."

"I never thought that you would give up," stated Remus grimly.

Dumbledore's eyes grew cold. "I have the fate of the wizarding world to think about and as the Supreme Mugwump and head of the Wizengamot I have to be seen upholding the law."

"When it suits you," gritted Remus, turning his head away. "When it hurts Harry." His cub had been abandoned and he was guilty of letting it happen. Resigning from the Order had never sounded so much like the right thing to do.

Dumbledore stared at the averted profile, his anger slipping away. "Perhaps you're right, Remus. I am not infallible. For Harry and Miss Weasley's sakes I will see what I can do. At least we can narrow down the area that we have to search for the boy. Some of the Order members could stake out the town where the attack happened. Harry must know it well; perhaps he may even work there. What did Kingsley and Miss Tonks think about it?"

Remus sighed. "I've not spoken to either of them about it yet. They were both on duty and would probably have reported back to the Ministry, although Tonks should be off duty by now." He glanced at his watch. "I'm surprised she's not here yet."

The headmaster dipped his head back into the Pensieve and watched the memory once more. "The piece of card Harry was fingering that he dropped – it looked like a muggle business card. Is there anything on it that could help us?"

Remus frowned and dug through his pockets for the small, white rectangle. "No, it's blank. Look!" He waved his wand over it. "Reveal!" he muttered, but nothing happened. He handed it to Dumbledore who ran several spells over it without success. The card remained stubbornly white.

"Alas, nothing." Albus handed the slip of cardboard back to Remus and eased himself from the chair. "These old bones of mine grow stiff," he admitted. "It's hard for me to admit that I'm not one hundred anymore." The headmaster opened the door and prepared to take his leave. "I will see you tomorrow, Remus. We must keep our spirits up. Harry has finally made contact with us which _is_ a good sign. You will know what to do when you see him again. I am quite sure he will be in touch." The door closed leaving the werewolf alone with his thoughts.

"Yes," Remus said slowly, twisting the card between his fingers. "I will know what to do." The motion of his fingers suddenly stilled as something occurred to him. He held the innocuous piece of paper up to the light and frowned. "I will know what to do?" His mouth dropped open. "Lupin," he muttered. "You've the brains of a pygmy puff. I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said carefully and watched with baited breath as a series of dark spirals wove themselves over the tiny square.

_Hello Remus._

_Harry Potter lives at Shielhill Cottage_.

"Where the hell is that?" Remus stared at the writing, not noticing that on the back of the card another message was being inscribed.

_This portkey will activate in less than ten seconds...._

"Fu..." Remus Lupin swore as he was inexplicably sucked into the spinning vortex of sudden unexpected apparition.

26


	31. Chapter 31

**The Unbreakable Vow 31**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.**

**As always my thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

"Yes," Remus said slowly, twisting the card between his fingers. "I will know what to do." The motion of his fingers suddenly stilled as something occurred to him. He held the innocuous piece of paper up to the light and frowned. "I will know what to do?" His mouth dropped open. "Lupin," he muttered. "You've the brains of a pygmy puff. I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said carefully, and watched with baited breath as a series of dark spirals wove themselves over the tiny square.

_Hello Remus._

_Harry Potter lives at Shielhill Cottage_.

"Where the hell is that?" Remus stared at the writing, not noticing that on the back of the card another message was being inscribed.

_This portkey will activate in less than ten seconds...._

_xxxxxxxxxxxx_

"Fu..." Remus Lupin swore as he was inexplicably sucked into the spinning vortex of sudden unexpected apparition from his comfortable chair in front of a warm fire to the middle of a dark, tree-lined lane. "...ck!" He shivered and pulled at his shabby tweed jacket, hoping for more warmth. His robe was hanging in the hall in Grimmauld Place. "Where have you brought me?" he wondered, giving the piece of card in his hands a final look before stowing it in a pocket.

Ahead, a set of imposing metal gates gleamed in the light of the waning moon, the letters spelling 'Sheilhill' etched out as part of the gates. An icy wind suddenly blew from nowhere finding the thinnest portion of his shabby coat and passing straight through into his very bones. Thoughts of what had happened to Harry during the third task at the Tri-Wizard tournament and then more recently to Severus Snape flew through his mind before he took hold of his racing nerves with a deep calming breath, gripped his wand with shaking fingers and stepped towards the gate. Harry wouldn't harm him – would he?

_Harry Potter lives at Shielhill Cottage_

The gate silently opened at his approach. "So, I'm expected," he murmured. But the long dark drive that he faced didn't instil him with confidence. What would be the mood of his host at the other end of this road? Remus wasn't sure. This didn't equate with the spontaneous, emotional teenager he'd known five years ago. This spoke of careful Slytherin planning. This was a Harry Potter he didn't know at all.

With a muttered "Lumos" and a swiftly applied warming charm, he began walking. About a hundred yards along the drive, he saw the wavering light of a torch coming towards him. "Hello, Remus?" called a voice.

"Harry!"

The bobbing light stopped and Remus could see the tall thin figure that belonged to the son of his long dead friend behind the glow of a huge yellow muggle torch.

"Good to see you again so soon, Moony." Harry's voice was cheerful. "Did you expect this mode of transport to my hideaway?"

Warmth filled his veins at the old nickname but with it came his ire at the boy's actions in disappearing for five bloody long years. He stopped in his tracks. "Harry James Potter..."

Harry calmly waved the torch. "I know, you want to shout at me but could you wait until we get inside into the warm? My wife is expecting you and we deserve a chance to present a united front. She's bound to blame me for something that's not my fault."

Remus gave a rueful chuckle, his anger draining swiftly away. "Strangely enough, I'm not really angry, Harry. Not at the moment – not yet."

"But you probably will be at some point later on." Harry slid a glance at the older man. "You didn't blow a gasket at the mention of my wife."

"You came into Anderson's shop waving your hands about with your wedding ring fully visible. Don't tell me that you're surprised I noticed or that I informed the Order? Is it a real marriage, Harry, or is that gold ring just a prop?"

Harry chuckled. "It's real. This ring is made from goblin crafted gold at its finest. The wedding was performed by a recognised minister of the church – it's legal. We checked the paperwork ourselves. I'd wager that you haven't informed the entire Order yet but you did tell the old man. Dumbledore will be sitting on the information wondering what leverage he can get out of it and then he'll inform the Order and possibly the Ministry if it gets him what he wants. I wouldn't be surprised if he instructs Hermione to search for the information in the muggle world."

"Dumbledore just wants the best for you, Harry," Remus remonstrated gently, knowing that the headmaster had suggested Hermione do exactly that.

"Dumbledore wants his weapon able to do his job," Harry returned angrily. "A pity then that he allowed my condition to go untreated. I was never going to acquire the fifty plus years of magical experience that snake-face possessed. Instead, why not let me lose all my magic and become truly defenceless? There was still the chance that I might beat him. Perhaps, he thought that once I defeated Voldemort my usefulness would be at an end. Perhaps, he thought I would then turn into a dark wizard..."

"You could never go dark, Harry."

"Dumbledore wouldn't be the first wizard to think such a thing but he would be one of the most powerful and influential ones and because of that, the most dangerous. His problem is that sometimes he thinks and plots too much. Not everyone sees it the way that he does – some people react to what is happening around them. How I was going to destroy Voldie without my magic just defeats me. Perhaps Dumbledore never thought that I had a chance – maybe I was never supposed to have a chance."

"Harry!" The werewolf's face showed his horror at the thought.

"It's not the first time I've thought it." He stopped and waved his hand towards the property that could just be seen between the trees. "Here's our little charmed haven. Another few steps and you'll see it properly."

Remus blinked and shook his head in disbelief at the sight of the cottage. "Harry, it's lovely," he whispered. "But is it safe?"

Harry nodded as he strode towards the front door. "Oh yes. I've had a crack security team comprised of both wizards and muggles helping us with the wards. It is under the Fidelius charm, is unplottable and surrounded by powerful blood wards. I'm safer here than I ever was at Privet Drive, Hogwarts or Grimmauld Place." Harry conveniently left out the part about the goblins being the ones to aid them at Sirius' instigation as it wasn't something Remus needed to know yet.

The door opened and Remus could see the slender figure that could only be Ginny Weasley standing waiting for them. "Miss Weasley," he murmured formally.

"I think you already know that it's Mrs. Potter," she corrected, her face impassive. "Please come in."

"Mrs. Potter." Of course, she was Mrs. Potter. He automatically glanced down at Ginny's ring finger to see the Potter family engagement ring on her finger. Harry said that the marriage was a real one. Remus gave a polite bow and was about to follow the young witch into the house when a brightly coloured ball shot out into the night air. Remus made a grab and found his hands filled with a sphere containing sections of the primary colours. What was it - another portkey, a cursed object or a prank? He gave it a shake – nothing happened. It was an ordinary child's toy.

"Don't panic, Remus. It's just a ball – a simple child's toy," Harry said lightly but there was a strange watchfulness about him.

_Oh, no! _Remus froze, his mouth opening and closing without any sound emerging. _Child! _There was a child here! Was the child Harry's? The werewolf's mind reeled. Of course the child was a Potter – who else would have a child in the middle of a war? James and Lily had done the exact same thing. They'd said that there was no time like the present and why wait? It was becoming apparent that Harry not only had a wife, he was also the father of a child. Dumbledore, the Weasleys and the Ministry in no particular order were going to go ballistic. This wasn't part of anyone's plans

Remus could only stare at the small figure peering from behind Ginny's slim figure. This was going to complicate matters in ways that Dumbledore could never have foreseen. "Does this belong to you?" he finally managed to ask, his voice and hands shaking.

"Are you talking to me or to Jamie?" asked Ginny mockingly.

"Jamie?" He sought Harry's still brown eyes.

"This is James Arthur Potter," Harry said proudly. "My son. Hey, trouble!"

"Ball!" shouted the child reaching up for his toy. "Mine."

Dumbly Remus handed it over. The child beamed at him, green eyes gleaming underneath a thatch of unkempt black hair before returning to his spot behind his mother's legs. "Ginny...Harry... He's..."

"He belongs to us." Ginny's voice was hard...defensive.

Remus shook his head. "That's obvious," he muttered dryly as he catalogued the child's appearance. "Potter genes..."

"And if you think..."

"Ginny, sweetheart," Harry said warningly. "Let's get inside. It's cold and..." There was a rumble followed by a crash and a distressed yelp from inside the house.

"Shit!" swore Harry and disappeared inside. "Dora."

"Dora?" Remus wondered if he'd been hit by a spell that only allowed him to articulate one word at a time. He looked at the clearly uncomfortable witch. "I was going to say, Ginny, that he looks like a complete Potter and is a beautiful child."

Ginny's face softened and she gave Remus a small smile. "Thank you."

"Harry said 'Dora' and there was a crash...oh! _Dora_!" Enlightenment and something else crossed the werewolf's face.

"You're not normally so slow on the uptake, Remus," murmured Ginny carefully. "Tonks found me."

He followed the Potters into the house, taking in a vague impression of stylish warmth and comfort before he was faced with the woman he was far too fond of for his own good and hers sitting amidst a pile of broken crockery.

Harry laughed. "You okay, Tonks?"

"R...Remus?" Her heart-shaped face flushed at the appearance of the older wizard. "I didn't expect to see you." She cursed under her breath at showing her clumsiness to the world and for the umpteenth time to Remus Lupin, the man she loved. They'd moved in to Grimmauld Place together twelve months ago and had begun a slightly uneasy relationship but even after a year of sleeping together Tonks was still unsure of exactly how Remus felt about her. He kept part of himself from her and, by Merlin, it hurt.

"What are you doing here, Dora?" Remus asked gravely. "How long have you known where Harry was?" He levelled a steely glare at the witch. "Why didn't you inform me?" he asked, pain and anger evident in his voice. "Didn't you trust me? Harry's the son of my oldest friend – my cub. You knew how I felt about his disappearance and you've known where he was all along?"

"Remus," Tonks began anxiously, "I didn't..."

He interrupted her. "Where have you been? You were supposed to be off duty hours ago – I was getting worried. Last thing I heard was that you were involved with the cleanup in...Oh!" he closed his mouth over the swearword he wanted to say, looking embarrassed.

"You were worried?" asked Tonks quietly.

"I expected you back for the evening meeting and you didn't arrive," answered Remus. "You're an auror and it's a dangerous profession. What was I supposed to think? And instead, I find you here with Harry and Ginny."

"I just discovered all this today. I was following a hunch," she said stiffly, hurt at _his_ apparent lack of trust. He should know by now that she would never keep anything from him if it concerned his precious godson. "And it's turned out to be far more than that as you can see. My report for the Ministry hasn't been handed in yet. I haven't told anyone."

"I wouldn't let you tell 'anyone'," said Harry mockingly. "Memory charm or a well-placed _Obliviate_." He twirled his wand in between his fingers. "I've been taking a leaf out of Hermione's book," he added softly. "I've been studying my textbooks. There's too much at stake for me and my family."

Remus closed his eyes. He'd hurt Dora - he knew he had. He always seemed to say or do the wrong thing where she was concerned. He couldn't believe that this lovely witch still wanted to be with him despite the things he did to make her leave. He'd admitted to Bill Weasley once, when severely affected by an excess of fire whisky, that he would like to marry her but there were far too many problems.

Harry gently helped Tonks to her feet, brushing off the detritus from her tumble. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she murmured wearily, with a swift hostile glance towards Remus. She loved him, she did but sometimes he made things so difficult. "Harry, Ginny, I must ask you this..." She held out a now glass-free frame containing a still, muggle photograph, the images frozen in time. "Why do you have a picture with Jamie and Molly together?"

Harry shrugged, darting a glance towards Ginny. "Molly is Jamie's grandmother," he replied calmly. "Why shouldn't he have his photograph taken with her?" He flicked his wand and the photo frame repaired itself.

The look on the metamorphmagus's face was a picture. "Jamie is a baby, he can't be more than..."

"He's nineteen months old," said Ginny. "I told you that."

"Molly shouldn't know that he exists let alone be photographed with him," declared Tonks. "Because of that picture's existence it's obvious that she does. If it's too much of a risk for us to know, why are they together?" Her eyes widened. "When was the picture taken?"

"A couple of weeks ago," said Harry. "It's a great photo."

Remus looked rather bewildered about everything. "Are you saying that Molly has known what's been happening all along?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, she only found out recently."

"How recently?" asked Tonks pointedly. This was worse than trying to interview a member of the Malfoy family. The Potters weren't giving away information readily. On the other hand, that could also be a good thing.

"About a month ago," admitted Ginny reluctantly. "We needed some help."

Remus cleared his throat. "Molly didn't tell Albus or the Order?"

Harry just tilted his head to one side, green eyes gleaming. "What do you think? Did Molly run back to Hogwarts and tell the old man everything like she used to? Should I be prepared to be hauled back to Grimmauld Place in a body bind?"

"Harry! Behave!" snapped his wife.

Tonks frowned ignoring Harry's provocation. "No, I don't think she could have. Not the Order and certainly not Dumbledore because we would have been immediately sent to fetch Harry." Tonks looked worried. "You know how desperate Albus is to have him back under his control." She looked horrified at what she'd said. "I didn't mean for that to come out the way that it did. Dumbledore doesn't want to control you, Harry; he wants to keep you safe."

"He wants to keep me safe by _controlling_ me. Never again." Harry smirked darkly at the couple. "It's not going to happen if I have anything to do with it. Of course, Dumbledore with his 'God' complex wants to control me. There's no doubt in my mind about that. However, I'm through playing his games. Molly _didn't_ tell the Order."

"My mother agreed to keep our secret," said Ginny. "And I trust her to do so. I must admit that she wasn't completely happy about it. She is proud of her grandson and wants the wizarding world to know about him but she also knows that widespread knowledge would prevent her access to him. We can't risk this becoming public knowledge yet. Jamie's life is at stake."

Remus turned to Ginny and Harry. "Who else knows about this? You can't have done this all on your own. I know you are resourceful but you must have had outside help. Molly was in St. Mungos when you left the wizarding world. She wasn't the one to help you."

Harry and Ginny looked at one another but said nothing.

"Molly isn't the only one that knows," stated Remus suddenly. "Is she?" He thought back to the last couple of meetings. Who would these two trust? Obviously not Albus by the way Harry talked about him. Who had the sense to keep quiet? "Bill and Fleur," he mumbled

Harry inclined his head, his sharp ears picking up the werewolf's words. "Well done – you have part of the puzzle solved. Bill helped us with the Fidelius charm."

"But..." Remus closed his mouth and began using his head. Bill Weasley was a good curse breaker but he was exactly that – a curse breaker. The Fidelius Charm and top level blood warding were not what the eldest Weasley was skilled in but he did work for a nation that was.

Tonks sat up gasping. "You've got goblin protection, haven't you? The last time someone was awarded that honour was during the first war against Grindelwald!"

"Goblins!" Remus exclaimed. "The goblins only help if..."

"It's been in place since before Sirius died," Harry admitted. "Bill only found out when I asked the goblins to involve him with our wards. Before he died, Sirius did some deal with the goblins. I don't know what it was and I never asked but they've helped us hide. He was concerned about my general treatment by the wizarding world and arranged for me to have a safe place to run to. If he'd been alive I expect he would have come with us. Fred and George also know about us. They asked me to help Ginny because no one else seemed to be capable of doing so."

"That explains a lot," said Remus.

"Perhaps," murmured Harry slowly. "I never actually said that I would help Ginny. Fred and George assumed correctly that I did so. We didn't want to say anything aloud. They found out just after Bill helped us with the wards."

"Now that I think about it, those four have been acting a little differently at meetings lately and Molly..." He paused and looked at Ginny carefully. "Molly hasn't been around to attend. I take it that was deliberate?"

Ginny and Harry caught each other's gaze and some sort of message passed between them.

"Molly cannot perform Occlumency with any real success," said Harry. "She would not be able to guard her mind for long against intrusion by the likes of Snape and Dumbledore. It's better for us that she's not around accomplished Legilimens quite yet."

"Believe me when I tell you that I wanted mum with me many times during the last five years. I didn't have my mother with me, helping me when I gave birth to my son. I did have help from my midwife and I could not have done it without my husband's aid but I wanted my mum." Ginny gave Harry an apologetic smile. "I'd better get Jamie to bed. Excuse me." She returned a few moments later carrying a wriggling toddler.

"No!" he shouted, green eyes flashing. "Not bed!"

"Yes," said Ginny in a voice that even Jamie understood meant what it said. "Bed. Give Daddy a kiss."

Jamie pursed his lips obediently and placed a wet salute on his father's cheek. He was really too tired to give more than a token protest but he had Potter and Weasley blood in his veins and protest he did – if briefly. "Not sleepy."

"Yes, sleepy," returned Harry firmly. "Very sleepy."

"Now a kiss for Auntie Nymphadora." Ginny slanted a wicked grin at the metamorphmagus.

"Ginny!" warned Tonks, but she lifted her cheek readily for the sloppy kiss. There was something about the presence of a child that lifted all their spirits. Tonks glanced across at Remus. Perhaps seeing Harry and Ginny with Jamie might make him lower his barriers. She knew he loved her but getting him to admit it was impossible. Tonks smiled and pointed to the werewolf. "And one for Uncle Moony?"

Jamie looked at the strange, tired-looking man. The green eyes stared into the warm amber of the werewolf. The child giggled and stretched out his hands, patting Remus gently on the face. "Moony," he said.

Remus smiled, his eyes looking suspiciously bright as if there were tears in them. "That's right, Jamie. Moony."

"Right, my little wizard," Ginny said. "It's time for a quick bath and then bed. We've had a long and tiring day." She bore him away and they heard her feet mounting the stairs.

"Harry Potter, a husband and father," said Tonks with a smirk.

"Yup," Harry said looking , the grin brightening his face

"Something I thought I could never be." His eyes moved to the kitchen door. "And what about you two? he asked, raising his eyes suggestively. "Any chance of hearing the patter of little paws? I think that you would make great parents."

"I think so, too," said Tonks.

Remus looked at Tonks and gave her a small strained smile. "I've tried to warn her away from me but she keeps hanging around. I'm too old, turn into a slobbering creature every full moon, can't hold down a steady job..." He shrugged. "How could I become a father? The list goes on."

"But I don't care about any of that," muttered Tonks fiercely. "I never have. If I didn't have Remus I would choose to be alone. I would be proud to be the mother of his child."

"Life is too short for regrets and half-lived lives," declared Harry. "You would make great parents and I've never been anyone's best man..."

Remus sighed and regretfully shook his head. He didn't want to be the wizard to burst the happy bubble but someone had to inject a dose of reality into the proceedings. "The marriage contract will not allow the status quo to continue. Harry, you know that you and Ginny..."

"Will be fine," Harry said fiercely, cutting off the older wizard before he could continue. "No, Remus, we'll be fine. The goblins did help us but it's only recently we've begun contacting family and friends. Let me tell you something that may ease your concerns." He told Remus and Tonks about the bond he and Ginny had somehow created and the tiny matching white scars on the palms of their hands. By the time Ginny returned from the bedtime ritual, Tonks and Remus knew as much as Harry was prepared to divulge.

"So you don't think that the contract Percy and the Malfoys instigated was ever legal." Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I never touched it," said Ginny calmly.

"What!" exclaimed Remus.

"I didn't want to," she said. "If there were any compulsion charms involved they had no effect. Harry had heard of magical contracts that were designed to take effect as soon as they were touched and had warned me about them."

"I'd been doing a lot of trawling through the books in the Black Library," said Harry, with a shudder. "They had several rather gruesome books on that very subject."

Remus took a steadying breath. Could everything be this simple? Merlin, he hoped so. "It's bordering on illegal to use these contracts but the old families – like the Blacks and the Malfoys - still cling to such customs and the Wizengamot is still entrenched in the past and the power of the Purebloods. I said it was 'bordering on illegal' but it isn't actually against the law."

"Bill's undertaken a little fact-finding mission for us. We're just making sure." Harry's eyes gleamed with determination.

"Luckily for us, Dumbledore is still in charge of the Wizengamot and will uphold the law. I know my brother Percy is an arse but he's an arse that sticks to the rules. If the contract is void, Percy will reluctantly accept it. He might not like it but he will accept it – if Dumbledore supports us."

"Five years ago I hadn't the power to openly help Ginny," said Harry bitterly. "Voldemort was on the rise and the Ministry was rife with corruption. 'Boy-who-lived' and all the crap that went with it weren't doing me any favours. They would have locked me up for the smallest infraction and trotted my _controlled_ wizarding self out to promote their good deeds towards the populace. Then there was the state of my magic. I had no power in more ways than one."

"I am the pureblood daughter of a minor house. My blood status and my family's fecundity are what makes me a valuable commodity." Ginny held up her hands staying the protests. "No, you have to be realistic. One thing that made me attractive to the Malfoy's was that I was one of seven children. Do you know how rare a wizarding family with that many magical children is? The Weasleys have nothing in material or political terms and everything in love and commitment. I'm not talking about Percy here, you understand?" She gave a small shrug. "What we have, in my opinion – our ability to love - is far greater."

"But not to people like Lucius Malfoy," inserted Tonks. "They only care about their power, prestige and stupid pureblood ideals. My mother was burned off the family tapestry because she married a muggle-born. She doesn't regret marrying my father but always laments the loss of her identity. The Blacks were once a proud and noble family. In many circles, sadly, the opinion that counts is that the purer the blood, the better the wizard."

"My magic dwindled away until I couldn't even perform a Lumos. It completely died - I had nothing." Harry looked hard at Remus, willing him to understand. "I could not defend myself against the simplest hex. The only way I could fight for Ginny was to take her away with me. Sirius planned this place for me. He knew that I might need a safe hiding place. He was unhappy with the way that Dumbledore and the rest of the wizarding world treated me. If the old man isn't willing to help us – even with right on our side – Ginny and I will never return willingly to the world we once knew."

"But You-know-who," moaned Tonks.

"Will wreak havoc on the wizarding world," said Harry.

Remus shook his head. "Voldemort will never leave you alone, Harry. You are connected through your scar. He will search until he finds you."

"Then let him _search_, Remus. I've felt nothing since the night he was resurrected again. I had a mild headache when it happened and again when I found Snape, nothing more. He's weaker than he was before, I'm sure of it. Last time my headaches were debilitating – I couldn't move."

"The _Magisiphonoux _curse," said Tonks, shrugging when Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, Dumbledore told us. He had to as Fleur was aware of what was cast on you. You-know-who and possibly Dumbledore are the only wizards alive who have the power to cast it but using such dark magic exacts a price."

"Drinking the blood of a unicorn also exacts a price – a half-life I was once told. Anything that weakens Voldemort is a plus but it will not keep him down for long, even without the skills of the premier Potions Master in Europe."

"There are other Potions Masters," said Remus quietly. "During the last five years Snape was training Draco and has admitted that the Malfoy heir is talented."

"Your fiancé, my love," Harry murmured to Ginny as she passed him heading towards the kettle.

"I broke it off," she shot back smartly making a rude gesture towards him.

"Did you inform the bounder that you no longer wished his hand in marriage?" persisted Harry, flashing her an impudent grin.

"He'll get the message eventually," she retorted. "Would you believe that on the rebound I foolishly married someone else? I cannot be yours."

Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his knee. "Name the scoundrel," he threatened dramatically. "I shall challenge him to a duel for you are mine and mine alone."

Remus and Tonks could only watch as Ginny pressed her forehead against Harry's, their eyes fixed on one another, the love between them almost palpable. "You've been reading my mother's old romance novels again, haven't you? Prat! Of course, I'm yours, love. We were always meant to be."

"Always," Harry returned, his lips finding the sweetness of his wife's. "Forget him. Just say the word and I'll make an honest woman of you."

"I thought that you did," she whispered, her lips partly sweetly over her husband's.

Remus swallowed and gave Dora a shaky nod. Love like this was too precious to waste and if he had a chance with the witch next to him then he'd take it. He'd been a fool to squander such a gift. He knew that she loved him but like a fool, he thought that her feelings would fade once she really considered his...affliction. Would Tonks agree to marry him if he asked her? Would Harry agree to be his best man?

Ginny withdrew her lips from Harry's and directed serious brown eyes at Remus. "Voldemort will never give up looking for Harry but we're not going to make it easy for him. Dumbledore had Harry locked up inside Grimmauld Place – that's no way to live."

"He did the same to Sirius," muttered Harry. "You would have thought that the manipulative old goat would have learned by now..."

"Harry," chided Ginny gently. "I'm almost as angry with the headmaster as you are but you cannot deny that he's a powerful wizard and we will need his help."

Harry's shoulders slumped a little. "I know, love, but I'm finding it harder to forgive than I thought. At least here, I can go out into the grounds – go to work. I have my family and something resembling a normal life. I know it's not going to last forever but I'm going to enjoy it while I can. The prophecy states that I'm the only one able to destroy Voldemort. More importantly the Dark Plonker _believes_ it and that means that I'll have to face him sooner or later. However, I want to do it on my own terms. You can tell Dumbledore where I am, if you like, but he'll want me back in that gloomy mausoleum of a house that Sirius hated so much. I'd rather stay here and I'd rather him not knowing where I am for a little longer. It's far safer than anywhere else he might suggest I imprison myself in."

"I would rather let Albus know," said Remus quietly. "I know you have issues with him but he's only trying to do what is right for the wizarding world. All he wanted to do was keep you safe."

"He didn't always manage to do that – Quirrell, basilisk...Tri-Wizard tournament..." Harry ticked them off on his fingers. "Need I say more?"

"Okay, okay," said Remus.

"Some of it was my fault, I have to admit," said Harry. "I've always been the quintessential curious Gryffindor. But there's a difference between 'safe' and 'incarcerated'. But the real issue is that Dumbledore knew that my magic was disappearing. He knew why and he didn't tell me."

"I think he regrets that action, Harry," said Remus.

"Maybe, but I don't have time for his regrets. I think he wanted to keep me weaker than I was. I'm not going to go dark and start my own campaign against the wizarding world."

"No one ever said that you were, Harry." Ginny slipped from his knee and moved to the counter, collecting the kettle which she filled with water and switched on to boil.

Harry's eyes automatically tracked her movements before continuing softly, "it's lucky that I knew what was happening and was able to do a little to halt the worst case scenario, which would have been the permanent loss of my magic. I suppose I was just as bad as he was, in a way. I knew what was happening and didn't tell Dumbledore that I knew." Harry stood up and walked to the window, his eyes focused on the darkness outside. "I'm not going to go dark. I have a family to protect. Voldemort will not spare them in his aim to get to me. I do not want history to repeat itself. Ginny and I do not want our children orphaned."

Ginny give a little shake of her head and held up her hand at Remus as he opened his mouth to argue. "Let us tell everyone in our own time. It will have to be soon. Neither Harry nor I disagree about that. As soon as Voldemort returned for the third time we knew that our lives would change once more." She joined Harry at the window, slipping her arm through his. "The wizarding world is calling us home. I can feel my magic racing through me."

"That could also be hormones," Harry whispered cheekily.

"Git," said Ginny, poking him in the ribs.

"So you've told Molly, Bill and Fleur and now us," said Remus with a nod towards Tonks.

Harry nodded. "As I said before - we've also told the twins. They're far too inventive to be left out of the loop. Hermione and Ron are too close to Dumbledore and that's why we haven't told them yet. Ron was never very hot at Occlumency or keeping his mouth shut either."

Tonks frowned. "They were your best friends, Harry. Is that fair?"

Harry shrugged, his gaze still fixed out of the window. "Is disregarding my basic right to live my life the way that I want to, fair? I wasn't very happy with the way they behaved towards me when I left. Hermione ordered me around, telling me how to do my job and scolding me when I didn't do what she wanted me to as if she were my mother. Ron couldn't wait to accuse me of hiding Ginny or doing something else I shouldn't."

"But you did hide Ginny," chipped in Tonks.

"Yes, but it was the manner of his accusations. I did it to _help_ her. Ron just lost the plot as usual and erupted without thinking. Hermione gave up on us. She couldn't believe that if Dumbledore couldn't do something then somebody else could. He's a great wizard but I know only too well that he can make mistakes. Somehow they lost me in the middle of it all. I was doing everything they asked of me but somehow it never was enough. I will tell them but only when I want to. I'm in control of my own life now and it's going to stay that way." Harry turned to face them, his mood changing. "Come on, I want to show you something."

Ginny chuckled. She loved to see Harry so enthusiastic about things. It reminded her of her father's love for anything muggle.

He led them through the house until they came to a stout wooden door. "This is where the original part of the cottage ends. Attached to the house was a barn or possibly a large animal shed. It's huge - almost as big as the original part of the house - and I have big plans." Opening the door, he flicked his wand into the darkness. "_Lumos_." He grinned at them. "Come on."

Remus and Tonks followed Harry into the large empty space and stopped in awe as the young man's _Lumos _illuminated a large empty space. The light coming from the wand caught the rustic stone walls and high above, the aged wooden beams.

"Merlin!" exclaimed Tonks. "It must be two stories high."

"The idea is to turn this into the wizarding part of the house," Ginny explained. "We could have got this done when the house was bought for us but Harry, the prat, wanted to do some of it himself."

"I wasn't sure what I was going to be able to do when we left the magical world and I thought it would keep me occupied," he said. "I used to do a lot of maintenance work for my Uncle Vernon during the summers I spent at Privet Drive." He left out the fact that he'd been forced to do the work. "I've spent many a weekend clearing this place out muggle-fashion," the young man admitted, with a wry grin. "I couldn't do anything magically. I'd been advised by my medical adviser not to - even if I could. Any use of my magic could have disabled it permanently. For once I did as I was told and left it to recover. As I was not using my wand it would be almost impossible for the Ministry to trace my movements."

"Who told you not to use your magic?" asked Tonks, instantly zeroing in on what had been omitted from Harry's explanation. By the sound of things, Harry had needed a healer and there was only one witch he would trust.

"We don't want to say," said Ginny softly. "And I suppose if you thought long and hard about it you would guess who it was. They risked a lot for us." She cleared her throat with a brisk cough and changed the subject. "There's enough room in here for a potions lab and a library and perhaps even a duelling space."

Remus looked at Tonks and raised an eyebrow enquiringly. Tonks gave a sigh and nodded reluctantly. They would keep Harry and Ginny's secret for a little longer.

"We won't tell Dumbledore," said Remus quietly.

"I sense a 'but' coming along," Harry muttered sardonically.

Remus almost smiled. "We won't tell Dumbledore _yet_ but if the need arises we will."

Harry shrugged. "Fair enough. Perhaps when the need arises I'll be ready to show myself anyway. I'm the secret keeper for this place and therefore no one can get past the wards without Ginny's or my say–so."

Tonks turned her head sharply to look at Ginny who shrugged. "We agree on most things."

"Harry..." Remus said.

"I remember my history, Moony," Harry said fiercely. "There's no way my wife and children are suffering my fate."

"Children?" Tonks said sharply. That was the second time that Harry had mentioned children. He hadn't hidden another one upstairs, had he?

Ginny grinned smugly. "What can I say; I'm a Weasley and he can't keep his hands off me."

Harry smiled and then blushed. "True. She gets this look in her eye and I..."

Remus's eyes widened. "That's perhaps more information that I care to know." He rubbed his forehead tiredly, massaging the place where the ache was threatening to build at his temple. Ginny was _pregnant_! He had to make the cub see sense and accept all the help he could get – even if that meant Dumbledore. It was clear that Dumbledore had handled Harry the wrong way but they needed one another and Harry needed to see sense. "Harry, you've already moved past what your parents did."

"No, I haven't," he said quietly. "Voldemort is still alive. I want to see my son go to Hogwarts, I want to teach him to fly and play Quidditch with him. I want to know my second child – boy, girl or garden gnome." He ignored his wife's snort of derision. "Dumbledore would have denied me that right if I'd let him. He wants me to throw away my life for the cause. I find these days that I'm a little more selfish."

Tonks surveyed the unrestored space of the old barn, a solemn expression on her heart-shaped face. "Then we will have to make sure that it happens – that you see your family grow up the way you want to. But eventually you will have to come to some sort of peace with Dumbledore. You need him as much as the wizarding world needs you."

Harry swallowed. "I know. But I don't trust him to think about _me_." He shrugged lightly. "I know that sounds selfish but there's more to being me than some Voldemort fighting-machine."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**Gringotts**

The goblin frowned as he searched the room for the human employee he was required to fetch. It was not a task he enjoyed – fetching humans - but he was, as yet, not a senior in the Gringotts ranks. When he reached the status of such a goblin of power he would send others to do his bidding and enjoy it.

"Mistress Weasley?"

Fleur looked up from the parchment she was studying, her silvery hair swinging around her face. "_Oui_?"

"Silverbreath has finished examining that parchment you gave him. It is necessary you speak with him immediately."

Fleur gave the goblin a respectful nod as she placed her work in her desk and set a small security ward. "Thank you, Logram. May your coffers greatly increase."

The goblin's frosty manner thawed a little. For a witch, Mistress Weasley appreciated the way of the goblins more than most but then, she had Veela blood in her veins and had made a good marriage. Her husband was almost considered to be an honorary goblin himself as he'd enabled the goblin nation to add much wealth to their vaults in his profession as a curse breaker.

"I will bring my husband. He will want to be present for this," she said. A flick of her wand and a small mirror floated in front of her face. Fleur checked to see if there were any imperfections but finding none, blew herself a kiss and the mirror vanished.

Slipping from her cubicle, she made her way along a utilitarian marble-floored corridor - the best quality floors were at least two levels above them - until she reached the room where the human curse-breaking team were based.

"Bill," she murmured softly.

"_Cherie_?"

"Silverbreath would like to see us. He has finished examining the contract."

"He has?" Bill leapt to his feet. "Let's go." He was half out of the office before he stopped and said to his wife, "Hold on, Harry gave me something he thought might help." He pulled out his wand, muttered a couple of words and a small bottle floated across the room. "Pensieve memory," he said quietly. "Of when Harry and Ginny bonded to one another. I used some of those old Egyptian wards to keep it safe."

"The goblins are on our side but extra evidence will not go amiss," agreed Fleur. She held out her hand. "Come on."

"I don't know what Sirius did to give Harry the goblins' protection but it's certainly been worth it." Bill's large freckled hand enclosed Fleur's. "He's in his office?"

The French witch daintily dropped a kiss on his scarred cheek. "_Oui_. Silverbreath is in his office" She led the way through the crowded human employee stations until they reached the lift to the upper floor.

Bill gave a soft whistle at the gleaming chandeliers and smooth polished marble flooring. "It's been a while since I made it up to this level of the building. I forget how grand it is. Dad said that this is what Malfoy Manor is like."

"Grand it may be," stated Fleur, her hand giving Bill's a quick squeeze. "But it's not exactly comfortable. It's cold... without soul. I prefer the delights of Shell Cottage...and the warmth of you."

Bill's heart melted at her words and was sure that the look on his face was one of pure adoration for his wife.

"That's one of the reasons I love you, too, _Cherie_."

Fleur smiled at him once more, then lifted her hand and knocked smartly on an imposing carved oak door.

"Come!" a gravelly voice intoned.

Bill murmured a soft phrase in Gobbledygook as his eyes met those of Silverbreath. "Thank you for agreeing to see us, honoured elder."

"Young Weasley!" growled the goblin pleasantly, before turning to Fleur and gesturing to a chair. "Your bondmate has informed us of your fertility. May you continue to prosper financially."

Fleur resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Goblins! "Thank you, honoured elder," she replied demurely.

"You have examined the parchment thoroughly?" asked Bill eagerly.

The goblin peered at him over glinting sliver-framed spectacles. "Yes."

"And is it what we thought it was?" Bill pressed. He handed the small vial containing Harry's memories to the goblin. "The Potters thought that this might clarify matters further."

"Good." Silverbreath conjured a curved stone dish and poured the memories into it. "Three memories?"

"Three," agreed Bill. "Our client thought that these would be the most important."

Silverbreath already knew what the parchment did or did not contain but was eager to see the true evidence of the Potters' apparent joining. He would know then what they were up against.

"_We will deal with any problems together. I'm not allowing you to push me away this time. I'm not allowing life to separate us. We have to go on living it." She reached up and gently kissed him on the lips as if sealing a vow and it was as if a ripple of glowing gold magic shimmered through the air, catching them unaware in its elusive mist. "Being without you isn't making me happy, Harry. To be honest, it's not making me any safer, either. I'm fighting for you. I'm not going away, nor am I giving up. This time I will win." _

Silverbreath emerged from the memory muttering, "...interesting, interesting. If the second one is as illuminating then I think we should have no problem with the legality of the situation."

_Harry dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small silver knife. Slicing it across his palm he motioned to Ginny to do the same. She didn't know what he was trying to do with this, but held out her hand, palm up and let him make a small cut to match his. "Whatever happens," he vowed. "I'll not let you go through this alone. Whatever happens, I'll be with you." _

_Pressing their palms together, they couldn't fail to notice the soft golden shimmer of magic which covered them both._

"_Well," Ginny stated in surprise. "Something happened there,"_

_Harry's brow creased in concern. "Yeah, I'm just not exactly sure what did happen. But it was some form of blood magic."_

Silverbreath lifted his head and stared severely at Bill and Fleur. "Why didn't you bring me these memories long ago? We could have saved time and many galleons over this." He lowered his head once more towards the shallow stone dish.

"_We made a blood oath," said Ginny simply._

"_We didn't use words," said Harry. "We didn't need to. Ginny and I belonged together. We'd only split up to protect her."_

The goblin emerged from viewing the final strand memory and pushed the document across the desk to Bill. "This piece of vellum is almost empty of magic. The enchantments never took hold and as their relationship grew, the magic held within faded away. Your sister and her husband had the stronger prior claim from the very beginning. They are husband and wife because _magic_ wills it to be so.

Fleur squeezed Bill's hand. "Yes," she crowed. "Then their marriage _is_ allowed by the law? They married in a muggle ceremony but were not certain it would be allowed."

"If it was not allowed, Madame," the goblin said gruffly, "then it would not have happened – wizarding, muggle or even goblin magic would have been as useless as a boggart in a joke shop. Young Potter and his bond mate are fated to be together and nothing should prevent their union. Magic is our law. Magic protects them and so does the goblin race.

"What is our next move?" asked Fleur. "If we take this to the Ministry, then we alert our enemies."

"It has to be done at some point," muttered Bill. "We're going to have to go to the official source and that's the Ministry. Nothing else is acceptable."

The goblin looked thoughtful. "Mr. Potter isn't still wanted for questioning?"

Bill frowned. "I'm not sure – they never proved that Harry had anything to do with Ginny's disappearance. We could get Tonks or Kingsley to investigate but then they might want to know why and that would alert Albus. The Malfoys still think she's contracted to Draco. They will do anything to cause trouble for Harry and our family. Then there's the Minister and his desire to have Harry as a publicity icon."

"It seems to me, Mr. Weasley, that we will have little choice in alerting your enemies over this. He has broken no law. Miss Weasley went with him willingly."

"Actually," Bill muttered. "She went first."

"But it was Harry's plan, _n'est ce pas_?" Fleur asked, arching a beautifully shaped eyebrow.

"It will soon be time for Harry Potter and his family to return home and then we shall see."

"But they are home..." Fleur said. "They have _la belle maison_ and it is protected by the Fidelius Charm."

"That is not what Silverbreath means," said Bill. His blue eyes caught the dark ones of the goblin who nodded. "Harry and Ginny have been in exile for five years away from their friends and family. They've been living as muggles, denying themselves their magic. They need to become part of our world once more – the wizarding world."

Fleur frowned. "It is not so easy, _Môn Cher_. They are hunted by all - He-who-can-not-be-named and his minions, Percy and the Ministry, even Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix want a piece of Harry and Ginny."

Bill straightened up. "Then we have to make sure that it doesn't happen because I can bet every galleon in our vault that Harry doesn't want that."

Silverbreath's toothy grin was feral. "Harry and Ginevra Potter have been declared 'Friends of the goblin nation'. Mr. Weasley, what would you suggest we do?"

"You have given them some measure of protection but they need more than that. Training," said the wizard eagerly. "The goblins have in times past created weapons of deadly beauty. They need to be able to wield such weapons. They will need to fight like warriors."

Fleur nodded. "They are safe under the Fidelius you helped them cast. They need more than that. _Cinq années_ without their _magique_ is...is deplorable. They need a..." She turned to her husband, her excellent command of English vanishing in her excitement. "What do you call it? Crashing their course?"

Bill chuckled. "A crash course."

Fleur clapped her hands together delightedly. "_Oui!_ You can start with the weapons and fitness training. Bill and I will arrange for advanced magic lessons."

Silverbreath stood up. "I will see what can be arranged on behalf of the goblins. You will help us greatly by tutoring them in Defence, Transfiguration and Charms. Only by practising their magic will they allow their strength to grow to what it should be."

The Weasleys quickly agreed.

"Perhaps some healing skills would also be beneficial," said Bill thoughtfully. "I'm planning on taking a refresher course myself."

"A good idea," said the goblin sagely. "However, you have something else that you must do which you've already mentioned. You must start proceedings in the Ministry to have the marriage formally legalised."

"But it is legal," protested Bill. "You said so."

"Yes, it is legal. And I am sorry but you will still have to do it for the magical world," said Silverbreath. "You know that it's legal and I know that it is but it needs to be done formally for the _Ministry_." He said the last word with a pronounced sneer of disgust. "Especially with Mr. and Mrs. Potter being who they are. You are head of the Weasley family so it is well within your rights." He opened a file lying on the desk and removed a creamy piece of parchment. "This is a copy of the Potter's marriage license. You will need this."

"Can it be done quietly?" asked Bill. "It will be difficult as we are all watched. The Ministry is no less corrupt than it was five years ago."

Silverbreath frowned. "I would go and do it immediately." He summoned another piece of parchment and scribbled something on it. "This will let your supervisor know that you are undertaking an important task on my behalf. You can say that you are on goblin business when you arrive. No one will disbelieve it." He tapped a long gnarled fingernail against his nose. "Top secret."

"Go," urged Fleur. "I'll have dinner ready. I know it's your turn to cook _ce soir _but I will do it this once."

Bill kissed his wife on the cheek and bowed his head respectfully to Silverbreath. He moved to leave the office and then paused. "It can't be done quietly, can it?" Bill answered his own question. "The information will only be top secret until I mention Harry's name and then all sorts of red sparks will go off in the depths of the Ministry alerting all the people we'd rather not know anything about it."

Silverbreath's smile was feral. "Then you'd better be prepared to deal with it." He reached for a piece of parchment and a quill. "Give this to your department head before you leave for the Ministry. It will give you a week's special leave due to family circumstances." His eyes were fierce as he gazed across his desk at Bill. "This was always going to happen sooner rather than later."

Fleur gazed at her husband with concern. "Perhaps it would be better if we were not at home once the news has broken. Harry and Ginny should have some warning of this. I did not realise that things would be so...immediate."

Bill pursed his lips and shook his head. "There's nothing else to do but get on with it." He accepted the piece of parchment. "I'll give this to Durin."

Fleur looked at Bill for confirmation. "I'll go home and pack us some clothes. Ginny's already invited us to stay any time we wanted to."

"Good idea." Bill bowed to Silverbreath and escorted Fleur from the office. "Could you send an owl to the twins and to mum? They should also be told. Dumbledore won't stay clueless for long and the last thing we need right now is for Percy or the Malfoys bothering Mum. Perhaps George and Fred could tell Ginny and Harry that we're all coming to stay."

"She's going to love that."

"That's what family is for," Bill retorted. "Plus, so far, they've got off lightly in their marriage. They've not had the full complement of Weasleys round for Sunday lunch. It's time they started. We'll break them in gently."

Fleur pressed a soft kiss on Bill's lips. "Good luck," she murmured. "Behave and try not to get into trouble. In and out, remember? I will be waiting for you."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_


	32. Chapter 32

**The Unbreakable Vow 32**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.**

**As always my thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.**

The Ministry of Magic was not Bill Weasley's favourite place to be. He'd rather take his chances with a cursed tomb than a Ministry politician. Ah, the heady days in Egypt before he'd married his beautiful Fleur, he thought with a trace of fond nostalgia as he waited impatiently for his wand to be weighed and checked.

"Eleven-and-a-half inches, oak with sliced graphorn horn," muttered the welcome wizard grumpily. The place had been going like a fair all day and he'd not had a chance to read his _Daily Prophet._

"Thanks," replied Bill, affixing to his chest the badge which read, 'Bill Weasley, Gringotts business' on it before turning and striding towards the bank of lifts at the far end of the atrium. He never failed to thank Merlin and other wizarding deities that he'd not followed his father into the Ministry after he'd left Hogwarts. It wasn't because he didn't have offers. With a superb collection of OWLS, NEWTS and the coveted position of Head Boy adding to the lustre, the Ministry very much wanted to have the eldest Weasley working for them.

But Bill was a shrewd young man and was already aware of the less attractive policies held by those in power. His father had been a good wizard but had never risen to the position he deserved whereas others like Lucius Malfoy, flaunting his wealth and status, had bought himself an escape from Azkaban, all the while sneering down at Arthur.

Lost in his thoughts, Bill never saw his estranged brother, Percy, jerk to a stop as he suddenly caught sight of the brother he'd not spoken to for over five years across the polished atrium floor.

Percy had been about to head for another meeting with the main manufacturer of Floo powder when the sight of a familiar vivid Weasley-red ponytail had made his heart slam into his throat and, rather than face Bill, he'd taken the coward's way out and slipped behind one of the decorative marble pillars. His mind immediately turned to thoughts of Ginny. He believed, at the time, that he'd done the best thing for his sister but she hadn't seen it that way. Perhaps he'd been wrong not to consult her but their father had been dead, their mother seriously traumatised in hospital and Bill and Charlie out of the country. The twins were feckless with their pranks and joke shop, Ron lacked sense and direction and Ginny was following in his footsteps. She'd fixed her romantic interest on one Harry Potter – the target of You-know-who and his dark followers. Percy considered himself to have been the only one actually thinking about her safety.

But Ginny hadn't cared for his opinion – none of his family ever had. She'd given up her magic rather than live in luxury with the Malfoy Family. At least, he assumed that was the case because no trace of her, magical or otherwise, had ever been found. He reluctantly pushed the image of Ginny from his mind, never considering the notion that she could have been dead.

There'd been something off about the atmosphere at the Ministry for the past day or two. It was oddly similar to when the Death Eater attacks had been happening during V... Percy gritted his teeth. He couldn't even think that name without blanching. He tried again. V...V...No! He just couldn't do it. But he could look around and see what was happening. The atmosphere was eerily reminiscent of You-know-who's second rise. The Ministry workers scuttled past with pinched, worried expressions and groups huddled nervously in open spaces to whisper about the strange things that were happening once more in the wizarding world.

Percy could now admit that he had buried his head in the mire of the Ministry's propaganda last time and where had it got him? He'd been demoted and shifted to a less important department. Nevertheless, the middle Weasley brother considered that he had one thing in his favour – his work ethic. He perhaps hadn't thought for himself the way he should have but he did believe in putting in an honest day's hard work. He was a Weasley and it was their unwritten motto. He was gradually working himself back into favour but it was taking time. His father had been happy to meander through his entire life underpaid and overworked. Percy did not mean to do the same.

If only his efforts had the support of his family but he suspected that with them, perhaps he'd put himself beyond the pale. Hermione was the only one he'd seen in a long time and that was only because she worked for him. He'd caught glimpses of the others in Diagon Alley but none had sought him out to tell him he'd been right. He'd been right and they'd all been wrong, hadn't they? Ginny would have been safer with the Malfoys than with Harry Potter. He never had stopped to consider that Harry was reputed to be just as wealthy as the Malfoys.

His eye moved to the large pots of Floo powder provided for approved Ministry employees and noted with satisfaction that the new self-refilling charm had been utilised successfully at least twice that morning. Aurors had been stepping in and out of the Floo with more frequency than usual. Once, Percy would have known exactly why there was so much traffic. Nowadays he just had to make sure that everything was working efficiently and that the extra upgraded quality Floo powder was available for the transportation of the magical community's law enforcement squad.

The Floo closest to Percy, used only by Wizengamot members, flared a sudden burst of green fire and a tall blonde wizard attired in black walked gracefully out of the fireplace. Two seconds later the entire Malfoy family was strutting its way towards the wand registration wizard right into the path of the oncoming Bill.

Percy slunk back behind his pillar and groaned. Without a doubt and even without the dubious benefit of any sort of Divination award, he knew that this was going to be awkward. His eldest brother could be calm and collected in the face of danger but inside lurked the infamous Weasley temper. He'd felt its effects on many occasions. Bill having any contact with the Malfoy family was a disastrous scenario.

Bill looked up, his eyes narrowing at the unexpected sight of the Malfoy family in all their perfectly expensive pureblood glory and then a strange smirk crossed his face. It was almost fitting that he run across them today. Their influence on Ginny's life was at an end. She could come home with her husband and son and be a proper witch again.

"Well, well, well! Bill Weasley," sneered Draco Malfoy. "It's been some time since you were last seen out in polite company." His confidence was at an all-time high. The Dark Lord had returned once more and his father was again by his side – his most important follower. Draco, with his assumption of Snape's position as the Dark Lord's Potions master, was surely becoming as indispensable to his Lord as his father was. The Malfoys would rise to even greater heights of wealth and glory under the rule of the Dark Lord. Nothing was impossible.

"Malfoy," Bill returned coldly and took a step forward.

"It's almost like a family reunion," a cold voice drawled. Lucius Malfoy stood barring his way, his dress impeccable, cane resting in an elegantly gloved hand. He was a little more circumspect than he would have been if he'd been anywhere other than the Ministry. Bill Weasley was a powerful wizard and couldn't be taken down yet - and certainly not in public - but a little intimidation never went amiss.

Bill smirked again. "You will never be family to me, Lucius."

"We are distant cousins," said Lucius with a sneer. "Very distant. Not that we would care to acknowledge such a pathetic relationship."

Bill's lip curled. So much for keeping things discreet. "How shall I put this," he mused aloud with a malicious chuckle. "Ah, yes. I believe that Lord Black removed your wife's and son's names from the Black family tapestry and reinstated Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks. What you expect is not going to happen, Lucius. We do not align ourselves with Death Eaters. Your son will never marry my sister."

"Removed!" Narcissa Malfoy gasped, two unflattering spots of red appearing on her pale face. She'd never really got on with her cousin but he was blood and that meant everything. "Sirius actually burned us from the tapestry – he hated us that much?"

"Yes." Bill's voice was cool. "Sirius hated you more than words can say. He hated you so much that he no longer considered you part of the Black Family. As head of the Family that was something he could do and did. He removed you. I can't believe that you're surprised. Harry Potter gained the Black Wealth as was his Godfather's wish."

"Potter!" spat Draco. "That coward!"

Narcissa looked stricken. She was proud of being a Black. The Blacks were one of the oldest pureblood families in the wizarding world. "We would have been good to your sister," she stated, proudly drawing herself up. "She would have been wealthy – lacking none of the finer things in life - and would have mixed in the very best wizarding circles."

"Our definitions of 'good' differ, Narcissa. She would have been used by your excuse of a son to provide an heir and then disposed of." Bill managed to squeeze the words from between his clenched teeth. He knew that his statement was the truth. "And your idea of the best wizarding circles certainly differs from mine."

"I never wanted the bitch to begin with even if she is a pureblood. I could pay for something much better and far more willing to spread her legs from Knockturn Alley," Draco gibed coarsely. "But then if I had her, Potter couldn't have her and I find that I like that idea very much. Your precious sister is still mine, Weasley. The contract cannot be broken. When I find her..." There was no mistaking the malice or the lewd suggestion in his gaze.

"Draco!" snapped Narcissa, horrified at the behaviour her son was displaying. "There is no place for such crudeness."

Bill clenched his teeth together once more. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of losing control. Oh, he wanted to – he wanted to hex all three of them until they begged for mercy - but that would be stooping to their level. He didn't want to descend that far. "You sound like a jealous child to me," he said matter-of-factly. "You want the toys that the other toddler has and so you scream and create until you get what you want. Real life isn't like that – even for a Malfoy. Your attitude is pitiable. I suggest you grow up."

Draco's face reddened with anger and embarrassment. No one pitied him – certainly not some poverty-stricken red-headed blood traitor. He was Draco Malfoy, Potions Master to the Dark Lord, and he would see that the fool paid for his words. His wand flew into his hand.

"Put that away, Draco," hissed his mother.

Draco gripped his wand tighter.

"Now!" she ordered. The young wizard glared at her but reluctantly stowed the wand within his robes.

"You know of Ginevra's whereabouts." Lucius was certain, ignoring his son's behaviour. There was something in the supercilious expression on Weasley's face that told Lucius that the young man knew more than he was saying. Unfortunately, the head of the Malfoy family did not have the Dark Lord's skill at discerning truth from lies.

"Has your dark master told you this?" Bill tutted mockingly. "I'm very surprised." He assessed the impeccable appearance of the wizard in front of him. "This is something that I don't understand. I'd never have thought that the Malfoys would lower themselves to kiss the hem of a dirty half-breed's cloak. And you call _me_ the blood traitor! I think I prefer things that way. I'd rather be called a blood traitor than a narrow-minded pureblood bigot."

"I could have you locked up for withholding information pertinent to a Department of Magical Law Enforcement investigation." Lucius was furious. He was the Dark lord's second-in-command. How dare this long-haired imbecile ridicule him in this way? He had to know where the impertinent chit was. He raised his cane threateningly.

"You could try but as I'm telling the truth," returned Bill evenly, "you would be completely out of luck as far as the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is concerned. I'm not some weak-willed wizard you can _Imperio_ into doing your bidding. I could not tell you where my sister is even if fed Veritaserum on draught. I was out of the country when she disappeared."

"I don't believe you," snapped Draco.

"I don't care if you believe me or not," snarled Bill. He lowered his voice, blue eyes staring intently at Draco as he made his point known. "If I'd been in the country you wouldn't have had a hope of even attempting what you tried to do. Check the international portkey records for the date Ginny disappeared and you'll find that my wife and I were still in Egypt. I can't tell you where she is and I'm glad of it. My sister will _never_ be your wife." He looked the family up and down, his sneer one that Snape would have been proud of. "You're not good enough for her."

"Why you...!" snarled Draco, his wand again appearing in his hand.

"Is there a problem here?" a deep voice said quietly.

"Auror Shacklebolt," said Narcissa thankfully, shooting 'keep quiet and put away your wand or else' looks at her husband and son. She was sure the dark-skinned auror was one of Dumbledore's associates but she was glad to have his 'official' presence. The Ministry atrium was not the place to be seen publicly brawling like common muggles and Merlin knew, Lucius and Draco were inches from doing exactly that. She was almost impressed by Weasley's control.

"Mister Weasley?" Kingsley enquired.

"Everything is fine, Auror Shacklebolt. Just _bloody_ wonderful." And with that Bill turned on his heel and headed for the nearest lift, glad that he'd managed to keep his temper. The urge to curse the Malfoys into oblivion for all the trouble they'd caused was very strong.

Kingsley's eyes anxiously tracked the Head of the Weasley family as he stalked away, sensing that a potential disaster had narrowly been avoided. He would have to let Dumbledore know of this – they couldn't risk an incident between Bill Weasley and Lucius Malfoy at this point in time. Not all the Weasley family were as controlled as Bill was and _he_ had barely held on to his temper when faced with the Malfoys. Efforts had been made to keep the families apart and, until this unintended meeting, had been largely successful on the whole.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mistress Malfoy, Draco," murmured Kingsley politely with a polite bow.

"Auror Shacklebolt." Narcissa's acknowledgement was a chilly dismissal and Kingsley knew it. But he could tell that she'd been glad of his presence. Trouble had shimmered between the Malfoy wizards and Bill Weasley.

"I'm glad to see that everything is fine. I hope it stays that way." After delivering his warning hint, he bowed once more. As he left the scene, his eyes caught those of an anxious-looking witch. He gave a discreet nod in her direction before returning to his office.

Lucius gazed disdainfully after the tall auror. "Come Narcissa...Draco. The meeting of the hospital finance committee begins in ten minutes. It would not do to be late."

Percy let out a sigh of relief as the Malfoys swept smoothly in the direction of the main committee rooms, completely missing his assistant shadowing Bill across the atrium. Hermione had also witnessed the altercation and had been the witch to alert Kingsley, just in case Bill or Draco had decided to hex one another or Bill had moved to sort things out the muggle way and thrown a punch – he'd done it before. This time everything calmed down before the punches or the hexes were thrown. Still, for the various concerned observers, it had been an anxious few minutes.

Percy couldn't believe the ache he felt in his heart at the sight of the brother he'd once looked up to and admired – the one that wouldn't even look at him – the fool that followed Albus Dumbledore and the words of the Boy-who-lived taking the rest of the family with him. The fool he envied.

He'd warned them all but none of them had believed him. They had supported Potter over him – they still did and they'd been right. Potter wasn't even a blood relative and they'd believed him before one of their own. Percy blinked away treacherous tears of self-pity. He lifted his chin proudly. He was a Ministry of Magic employee and had a job to do – the floo system couldn't possibly run smoothly without his input.

Would he still have a job when You-know-who walked into the Ministry? He was being foolish. Of course, You-know-who wasn't going to enter the Ministry. The Ministry and its employees had everything under control.

With an angry sniff, Percy whirled around and headed towards one of the fireplaces, his cloak billowing behind him.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Several hours later, Hermione watched her boss sharpen his already sharpened eagle-feather quills with an almost religious zeal. Percy Weasley was acting stranger than usual and she was convinced he needed some sort of wizarding psychiatric treatment – if St. Mungos ran to such things. Even when she went to the loo, she took all her things with her as she was convinced that Percy was searching her notes to find information on Harry, Ginny or Dumbledore's Order. She could easily admit that the former Hogwarts head boy was clever but there was no way that he would be able to decipher her privacy charms, she thought smugly. Did he really think that she would be stupid enough to leave things around for him to decipher? Her certainty wavered. Perhaps she was the one who needed treatment at St. Mungos for even thinking that Percy could do such a thing.

Like most of the wizarding world, Hermione was nervous of the battles to come. Unlike most of the wizarding world, Hermione knew enough to justify that nervousness. In fact, everything around her lately was unsettling and even the Order members were all on edge, just waiting for something big to happen. It reminded her of You-know-who's second rise to power when nothing was happening and yet everyone knew that something was about to change and not necessarily for the better. The battles would come whether they wanted them to or not.

"Percy?"

"Yes, Hermione."

"If it's all right with you, I'll tidy up and go home."

"What! Oh, yes," he mumbled. "Go home."

She lifted her head and looked enquiringly at her boss. He never let her go early – something was wrong. "The new grade of floo powder seems to be working well," she offered quietly, wondering if that was a reason for her early release.

"It is," he muttered absently, his gaze fixed on a crumpled piece of parchment, obviously not seeing anything written upon it.

"Is there something wrong, Percy?" Hermione asked.

"What?"

Hermione repeated her question, her eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay? You seem...distracted."

"Oh, no, I'm fine – everything's fine." He lifted his wrist and gazed stupidly at his watch for a moment. "Is it that time already?"

"It's after five," Hermione said. "I usually stay until six but..."

"Just go," he mumbled vaguely, cutting her off. "I'll set the privacy charms when I leave."

"Very well. If you are sure." Hermione rose from her seat and began packing away her things, locked her desk with a silent security spell of her own devising and accio-ed her cloak.

"Hermione..."

Her hand reaching for the doorknob, she turned to face Percy. "Yes?"

He looked unhappy...confused...distressed. His hair was untidy, his tie hung crookedly from his neck and there was a smear of ink down the front of his usually pristine white shirt. "My family...the Malfoys... Did I do something so very wrong in arranging security for my sister when there was no one else to protect her?"

"Did Ginny want that from you?" asked Hermione, wondering to herself what had brought this on. Could it just have been the encounter between Bill and the Malfoys that had set this off? "I don't think that she did. She wasn't defenceless."

Percy frowned." She..."

"She had Fred, George and Ron if she needed them at home and she's a strong witch, Percy. Ginny was all grown up when you made that decision for her. You know what she's like. Did you really think she would tamely accept it? And Percy - the Malfoys? You used to dislike them as much as every other member of your family did. When did you begin thinking that power and position were better than honesty and decency? When did you discount all the evidence that said that Lucius Malfoy was as much a Death Eater as the men that killed your uncles, Gideon and Fabian, during the first war or your father during the second? Did your time with Crouch and Fudge twist you from the intelligent wizard we knew you for?"

There was a long silence and Hermione opened the door only to hear Percy say softly, "I wanted to prove myself. I wanted the Weasley name to mean something again."

She paused and turned her head back to stare at him in disbelief, unable to believe what she was hearing. "What!"

"I wanted to be proud of being a Weasley," he said.

Hermione threw him a look of loathing. "If one only listens to the likes of the Malfoys, then maybe the Weasleys never had a name that meant something and if you only listen to Professor Dumbledore and most other wizards that I know, the Weasley name always counted for the right thing."

"Hermione…"

"No! You've got what you wanted – a career in the Ministry. It's a shame that you had to sacrifice your family to get what you wanted. You may never have been proud of being a Weasley but I'm going to be very proud indeed when I marry Ron." Her mouth twisted into a sneer. "But perhaps the Ministry career isn't what you hoped it would be."

"Of course it is. I am the youngest..."

"Don't feed me that codswallop!" Hermione cut him off. "Deep down you wanted to be like Bill... clever and exciting... or like Charlie with a dangerous and difficult occupation in the dragon reserve. The twins are successful and making money with their joke shop, a career you find unworthy, and that eats away at your pride. You forget that your father was far from a joke at the Ministry. Yes, he loved muggle things but he was well-liked and respected amongst his colleagues. Your mother was happy to stay at home caring for her family and her cooking skills are legendary amongst the wizarding community. The Weasley name is only tarnished in the eyes of those families who are unworthy to look down on them for their priceless gift of love. Ron in some ways still has to find himself. He's suffered from an inferiority complex for a long time. It's not easy being the youngest of six brothers but he's doing well in the Department of Magical Sports and Games. Ginny was different being the only girl but she didn't want to be patronised or protected. You will remember I fought with Ginny at the Department of Mysteries and she was just as capable as some of the adults that we faced. She loved Harry Potter...loved him and you helped drive both of them away from us."

"You-know-who is back, isn't he?" Percy's voice trembled.

Hermione gasped and went white. "How...how did you know?"

"You may not think very much of me but I'm not stupid, Hermione." He tugged at the tie around his neck rendering it even more askew. "I watch and I listen. Dumbledore's called up his Order of the Phoenix again. Don't deny it. I've seen you all congregating in the atrium on several occasions. It's not terribly discreet of you."

"That's none of your business," she returned fiercely.

"It would be if I wanted to join the Order," he said carefully. "You are close to Dumbledore, Hermione, and could put forward my name. My family were members the last time You-know-who rose to power and I would expect no less from them this time."

Hermione uttered a short burst of disbelieving laughter. "Excuse me, Percy, if I don't believe you. The members of the Order of the Phoenix are dedicated to stopping V...Voldemort and it's considered to be a vigilante organisation by some of the DMLE. Your opinion of Dumbledore's actions has not been a positive one. In fact, you and Fudge were singing from the same parchment – that was before he was booted out of office." Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Who in the Ministry wants you to spy on us?"

"No one. I suspect the Minister already knows quite a bit. He's been cloistered in meetings with Dumbledore off and on since Halloween. Once I would have been privy to such information. Now I am not."

"Oh."

"Recall Potter from wherever Dumbledore has him stashed and get him back out there. He is the chosen one, so it's said." Percy watched Hermione carefully for her reaction. Was Potter really the chosen one?

Hermione's face went even paler. "H...Harry?"

"The _Daily Prophet's_ been calling him that for years. If he is the chosen one then he needs to do the thing he was chosen for."

"H...how dare you say that." Hermione's gaze skittered away from Percy's. "Why should such a task be Harry's responsibility?"

"And I still think he knows where my sister is."

"Harry..." Hermione clasped a shaking hand to her mouth.

Percy stared at her, taking in her pallor. An idea suddenly occurred to him. "You don't know where Potter is, do you?" he said slowly, his voice deepening in horror. "None of you do. I thought it was strange that he hadn't been seen at all. I did think that he had something to do with Ginny's disappearance but the Aurors investigated quite thoroughly and he was interviewed several times. Like the rest of the wizarding world, I just accepted that he was off training somewhere."

Hermione drew herself up. "You have a very good imagination, Percy. You were ready to have Harry thrown in Azkaban the last time you met. How can he be a villain one minute and our saviour the next? He's just one wizard. What can one wizard do? Harry is fine." They'd treated Harry so unfairly, heaping far too much pressure on his skinny shoulders.

"You've seen him then?" He raised a thin red eyebrow.

"Well..." Hermione looked completely nonplussed.

"Of course you haven't. _No one_ has but when he appears he'll have to answer for what he's done." Percy's sudden fit of bravado vanished as he admitted softly, "I've been a fool, Hermione, and where has it got me?"

Hermione's mouth dropped open in surprise. For the first time since she'd known him, Percy Weasley was honest to her about his family.

"I'm currently going nowhere in the Ministry – my job is head of this Department but it's a dead end. There's nowhere else for me to go - and despite everything I miss my family. I've no friends – all I do is work." His eyes pleaded with her. "My m...mum. Is she alright?"

"Molly's fine," Hermione answered quietly. "She misses you. I believe she would welcome a visit from you even if the rest of the family would not. She misses your father very much. Your father she will never see again in this lifetime but you..." Hermione left her words hanging in the air unsaid. "She also misses Ginny and Harry," she added.

"You've no news of them – of Ginny and Potter?" he asked casually, knowing now that he'd been right all along. Potter had been behind his sister's avoidance of the Malfoy contract.

Hermione stiffened, suddenly afraid. "I can't believe I nearly fell for it, Percy. I almost thought that you were genuine for once."

"So you truly don't know where they are?" he persisted, wanting to hear her admit it even if it was a lie.

"No," Hermione cried summoning her heavy book bag to her. "We don't even know if they're together – if Ginny's still _alive_." She took a step out of the door, her shoulders heaving with distress. "Oh, Merlin! I can't..."

"Hermione!" There was the scrape of Percy's chair, footsteps and she felt his hand tentatively touch her shoulder. She couldn't lie very well - even he knew that. "Look, I'm sorry. I just want to know that my sister is safe. If she's with Potter then he'll keep her as safe as she allows him to. I may not agree with what he believes and I have to reluctantly admit that he's been proven right more often than not but she is _still_ contracted to Draco Malfoy and the marriage will still have to take place when she returns from wherever she's hiding." All traces of his usual pomposity had gone. "Someone _must_ know where they are."

He was saying something that she'd thought herself on a number of occasions. "I can't tell you anything on that matter," whispered Hermione sadly. "Because I really don't know. If Harry helped Ginny then Ginny was the only one who knew anything about it." And she didn't trust him not to honour Ginny's commitment to the Malfoys after his earlier statement. Percy Weasley was still a stickler for the rules.

"I was wrong, Hermione. I know that now and if You-know-who _is_ truly back..."

"The bastard's name is V...Voldemort." Hermione closed her eyes, refusing to look at him. It was pretty late in the game to start having regrets! She scowled. "We must all take some of the blame for Ginny's actions but you more than most and I'm not the one you should be apologising to – I'm not the people you wronged. I have to go." With the quick tap of her heels on the floor she whisked herself out of the office door leaving him alone with his troubled thoughts.

**xxxxxxxxxxx**

**Later that evening**

Apparating straight from the Ministry to the gates of Hogwarts, Hermione walked up to the castle, shivering slightly against the December cold, and entered through the side door that the headmaster kept enchanted to admit Order members. She wanted to do a little research and Dumbledore had told her that the library was open to her whenever she wanted information. After her conversation with Percy she needed the calming feeling that the smell of parchment and leather always gave her.

There were reasons she had often been called the smartest witch of her age and various things had been gnawing away at her mind – things she'd missed in all the upheaval that had taken place since the unmasking of Snape as a spy for Dumbledore and the light by the followers of You-know-who. There was an inexorable downward spiral to life ever since Snape had been returned to Hogwarts by Harry and Hermione knew she'd been waiting for it to happen ever since You-know-who had been defeated five years previously.

She, along with Percy which was a rather worrying development, had come to the conclusion that someone had to know where the boy-who-lived was hiding. Even Sirius at the height of his notoriety had had help even if it was only Crookshanks, her cat. She had her suspicions that someone within the Order knew far more than they were saying but she couldn't prove anything yet.

Harry had walked out of their lives rather than return to his Aunt and Uncle without the comfort of his magic. It might not have been as bad for him as an adult as it had been as a child but it would still have been bad enough. How could he have been protected without an almost permanent guard? Hermione couldn't see how it could have been done. It would have been almost impossible without creating a prison for him. Harry's feelings of anger and isolation at the time were now easily explained by the terrible curse that had been inflicted upon him. She felt ashamed of how she'd continued to nag him about his studies, his behaviour and his feelings and hadn't given him and Ginny any help at all.

Harry had few friends or reliable contacts outside the Order and certainly none outside the wizarding world. It hadn't been encouraged by his family or Dumbledore. He'd been protected to the point of captivity.

Hermione didn't think that there was anything she could have done to help Ginny avoid the Malfoy's marriage trap but it now grated upon her that she hadn't even tried. Even worse, neither had Dumbledore. The supposed greatest and most powerful wizard of their age had folded to the dark side's machinations without a murmur. To him, it had been another chance to have someone spying upon their enemies. Ginny's plight had only been another opportunity for the greater good, her rights as an individual ignored. Hermione could see now that Harry had probably been accurate – a marriage to Malfoy would inevitably have meant Ginny's death.

How could Dumbledore have even contemplated such a move? Her faith in the elderly mage had been severely rattled upon hearing the news that Harry had been cursed of his magic and would have been unwillingly returned to his relatives. She'd found it difficult to fathom some of the decisions made by his supposed protectors when Harry had been a child but as an adult? The headmaster should not have the right to decide such things.

She had to admit that she was ashamed of her own behaviour - fooled into looking at the bigger picture rather than helping a friend. It wasn't too late to start doing that now. Hermione pulled the large dusty leather-bound book towards her and began hurriedly to make notes.

"Miss Granger..."

Hermione lifted her head from the parchment she was studying. "Yes, Professor Dumbledore," she murmured warily, trying to push away her feelings. They hadn't done right by Harry, but Dumbledore was probably the only person that could help him now.

"Hermione," the old wizard chided fondly. "It's been a number of years since you were a Hogwarts student. Surely you can call me Albus?"

"It's difficult, Headmaster," she admitted, not meeting his eyes.

"Ah!" Dumbledore sighed. "You're questioning your faith in me – in the decisions I made." He held up a hand forestalling her stammered apologies. "It's only right that you should. It is another step into adulthood and independence of mind and thought. Many do not attain such lofty plains and continue to follow blindly." He gave a weary sigh. "You and I have already seen what happens. I have, as I said, made many mistakes with regards to Harry and my mistakes tend to be bigger than most. We need him back under our protection. I am trying to right my wrongs."

"By dragging him back against his will?" asked Hermione, finding her backbone. "It's not a very good idea – not if you want his co-operation. You _do_ want his co-operation?"

"I do."

Hermione would have offered her opinion to Ron and Harry in an instant whether they'd asked for it or not but this was Albus Dumbledore she was speaking to and, his views about developing independent thought notwithstanding, it was difficult to countermand his opinions. Still, this was for Harry and she wanted to make up for not supporting him as she should have done in the past. "Then perhaps if I were you, I would leave him where he is until he includes us in his life once more. From my brief glimpses of Professor Snape's memories of Harry in the Pensieve, I can only say that I've never seen him looking so well."

The headmaster's expression did not change but Hermione could tell that her plain speaking had pained him.

"If his magic is returning, Hermione, then he is in grave danger. Voldemort has always had a connection to Harry through his scar. I only want to protect him until he's ready to meet Voldemort."

"What if he never becomes ready? What if he doesn't want your protection? He is an adult wiz..." She paled. Harry had lost his magic and would be vulnerable to any Death Eater attack. She waved her hand wildly at the ancient tome she'd been leafing through. "I've just read up on the curse he was hit with and it's horrible...truly horrible. What if his magic never recovers properly?"

"Ah, Miss Granger. You always ask the difficult questions."

The young witch blushed. "I try because someone has to and the book says that there's no known cure – only time. You are Professor Dumbledore, leader of the light and the only wizard V...Voldemort ever feared..." She lifted her chin. "But you could have been as bad as V...Voldemort in your own way. I'm not saying that you are," she added hurriedly. "But who holds you to account?"

"Ah!" Dumbledore said, a bittersweet smile crossing his face for a moment. "You are, of course, correct. There's the famous quote about 'absolute power corrupting absolutely'. I am certainly not immune from making mistakes. I strive to do the best for the wizarding world and I certainly do not want immortality. I find that I am curious where my next great adventure will take me. I may be head of the Wizengamot but I never wanted to be Minister of Magic and once I became headmaster of Hogwarts I wanted nothing else but to be there guiding the next generation of the wizarding world. Voldemort wants power only for himself. He does not care about others. I like to think that I'm different."

Hermione swallowed and nodded. "I understand."

"Harry's magic has returned in some shape or form - that much is clear," the headmaster explained quietly. "We have to hope that it is enough. Voldemort will not cease his pursuit of Mister Potter because his magic has lost its power. He will revel in the fact that his curse was successful but desire to complete what he started. I think Voldemort also may fear what Harry may do whether he has magical power or not. Our young friend has proven his resourcefulness over the years but I am certain that Harry needs more time than we can give him. And finally, if you are ready to question me and hold me to account, Miss Granger, then you can call me Albus."

"I will try to use your name, Sir. I may relapse but I promise to do my best. You've been Professor Dumbledore to me since I first knew that magic existed."

"That's all I can ask for." He seated himself in the chair opposite, carefully arranging his violet robes around himself. "I did not think to see you here tonight."

"Ron has to cover an evening Quidditch match," she explained. "While he's away I wanted to come and use the library." She gave the headmaster a rueful smile, as she gestured around the almost empty library. "I get peace and quiet to do what I want without interruptions. Molly means well but she..."

"Any time, Hermione. Hogwarts is always open to aid those who require it." The old wizard smoothed the soft iridescent fabric of his purple robes once more across his knees. "It is fortuitous that you are here for I wanted to ask you to handle a task for me on behalf of the Order and also to enquire about Molly's health. It's been several weeks since she's been able to come to an Order meeting and I have been concerned. Since Arthur died and Ginny and Harry vanished I know that Molly has found things difficult. She's not the powerhouse that she once was. She lost much of her fire when she lost Arthur."

Hermione frowned and fiddled with the quill in her hand before placing it carefully next to the parchment. "She's fine...happier than I've seen her in years. I wondered if she was seeing someone and doesn't feel that we would approve. I only wondered because she's going out quite a lot and never says where she's going and for the first time in years she's making an effort with her appearance. It's been six years since Arthur died and I wouldn't begrudge Molly a chance at happiness. I haven't said anything as I don't want to be seen to be interfering and she hasn't offered us any information. She's not my mother but in view of V...Voldemort coming back I worry that it could be the wrong sort of wizard."

Dumbledore's words soothed the anxious witch. "Of course you are worried. Molly is as close to you as your own mother, Hermione, and has been more vulnerable of late with Arthur's death. Closer in some ways with you being Muggleborn and your parents still in Australia. Mention your concerns to Ronald and perhaps to Bill. He will likely find it easier to speak to his mother without interfering with her privacy."

Hermione brushed away a hint of a tear and took a fortifying breath. "What would you like me to do, A...Albus?"

"One day, when we've defeated the evil in our world I hope to be able to say 'nothing," he said with a bittersweet smile. "The task that I need you to perform must be done with the utmost discretion on your part."

"You can trust me on that."

"I can, Hermione. I trust you on a great many things and you are ideally placed at the Ministry to look into this matter." Dumbledore smiled kindly at the young witch. "We need you to check wizarding records for Ginny Weasley's marriage contract without alerting the Ministry to your activities."

"That's strange," she murmured, her forehead creasing with her frown. "Bill Weasley was looking into the very same thing."

"He was?" Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Was this recent?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, this morning in fact. He said that he was at the Ministry on goblin business but I doubt that's true."

"It could very well be true, Hermione. The Ministry's finances are run by the goblins, too."

"Bill's a cursebreaker, not a goblin-ministry liaison officer and the Ministry have their own cursebreakers – they don't need Gringotts' employees. I'm sure he's got nothing to do with protecting Ministry finances. If it weren't for marrying Fleur and with the baby on the way, Bill would be abroad..."

"Mister Weasley came _home_ when the threat of Voldemort's second rise hit the wizarding world. He came home on sabbatical from his job in Egypt and met and then married Fleur. You know that both of them returned to Egypt until Arthur died but he was always intending to return to Britain. Bill willingly returned home to be with his family. He has put down his own roots at Shell Cottage with his marriage and impending fatherhood." Dumbledore frowned. "But why would he be checking the marriage contract today unless...?"

"He blames himself for Ginny's situation," offered Hermione sadly.

"It wasn't his fault," returned Dumbledore, still thinking hard. "Deep down, I'm sure he knows that he had nothing to do with Ginny being contracted to the Malfoys. He's recently been promoted, too, I hear. I'm glad that the goblins are giving him more responsibility. He is a capable, trustworthy and very powerful wizard." The old wizard had sensed greater than usual antipathy from Bill at the last couple of meetings that the eldest Weasley had attended. The headmaster hadn't spoken to Bill for a couple of weeks and certainly not since Harry had appeared in Aberdeen on Saturday so how could Bill have known that they were suddenly interested in the Malfoy-Weasley marriage contract? Perhaps Remus had told him but Dumbledore didn't think so.

Hermione shook her head. "Bill wasn't there on Gringotts business. Why would he be looking for information in the records department?"

"You are sure?"

"I followed him," Hermione admitted, "but he didn't see me. I waited until he'd gone and popped in to see if Mary Spiderwicke would let something slip." Bill's hushed tone had been urgent as he spoke with the older witch but Hermione had been unable to hear the discussion.

The headmaster sat up. "And did she? Did Mary say anything that could help us?"

"Not directly." Hermione looked troubled. "Records are confidential as you know and Mary is a sensible witch with honesty and principles. She wouldn't have said anything to me even if I'd asked...which I didn't. I felt it was suspicious enough me visiting her just after my future brother-in-law had been in her office. Mary and I have taken tea together on a number of occasions – I even received an engagement gift from her."

"How very kind of her. Mistress Spiderwicke is a former Hogwarts head girl," Albus informed the young witch. "And I can understand your dilemma. You would not want to put any strain on such a cordial acquaintance. Perhaps I could have a word with Mary myself."

Hermione shot him a grateful look, glad that he didn't take her to task for finding out so little but she doubted that the extremely proper witch would divulge anything – even to the great Albus Dumbledore. "Mary had an expensive sheet of blank parchment on her desk and was examining it very carefully. It had been wrapped in green and silver ribbons and she was checking information in a very large book."

"Could you ascertain the title of the book? I am sure that Mistress Spiderwicke is in charge of the wizarding births, betrothals, deaths and marriages."

Hermione shook her head. "It looked like any official Ministry ledger. Black dragon-hide binding, gilt-tipped parchment..." She held up her hands. "It could have been anything."

As Hogwarts' headmaster and the head of the Wizengamot, Dumbledore had the power to view any sensitive information. Perhaps a trip to the department of records could be in order. "Something had probably just been misfiled," he suggested calmly.

"Possibly." Hermione pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "Possible but unlikely. Why would Bill be visiting Mary? It's just that I saw Bill removing something very similar from the old desk in Arthur's study a few weeks ago. It was the same grade of quality parchment and the ribbons were the exact shades of green and silver. I would have sworn that it was Ginny's marriage parchment had it not been blank.

"It was blank." Dumbledore straightened in his seat, his brow furrowing in thought. "You are certain that it was similar?"

Hermione cast her mind back to when Bill had been rooting around in the old desk for pieces of 'spare' parchment. "It was a few weeks ago as I said, but, yes, I'm almost certain that it was the same type of document. I also remember when Percy and the Malfoys arrived with the contract and I examined it then."

"You've given me a lot to think about and a possible idea," murmured the headmaster. "If the marriage parchment has faded then..." His voice tailed off slowly and he frowned. "It takes very powerful magic for such a thing to happen. Very powerful magic or..."

"Do you think...Sir, that something serious has happened to Ginny?"

"It's difficult to say. Five years is a long time without news." Dumbledore tapped the tips of his fingers together.

Hermione's eyes widened with alarm. "If the parchment is blank does it mean that she's still alive?"

"Did Mister Weasley look at all distressed by what he had found?" asked Albus calmly, although inside he admitted to some apprehension. He hadn't foreseen any of this. Harry had always been rebellious, untrusting of authority but never had he been so defiantly against plans made for his guidance and protection.

"No, Bill seemed to be pleased, Sir..."

"Mmm." Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully. "Then I think Miss Weasley is unharmed." He sat back in his chair. "You perhaps heard about the Death Eater attack two days ago on a town about four hours from here?"

"I heard rumours, nothing concrete," she admitted. "It just means that V...Voldemort has got tired of waiting and we are at war again." She shrugged. "What has this got to do with Ginny?"

"You brought to our attention the reporting of a strange attack by muggle ruffians on Halloween, remember? It was a small column of news hidden away in the middle of the local newspaper. The town attacked is a mere twenty miles from where that particular incident took place. Because of a warning, the Aurors and available Order members were able to get there before too much damage was done. The warning was given by Harry."

Hermione's face lit up. Harry had made contact? "Then you know where he is? Have you spoken to him? We have an even closer lead on his possible location?"

Dumbledore chuckled at her enthusiasm before growing serious once more. "No, Harry managed to contact Remus but refused to return to Grimmauld Place with him. You and Mister Weasley have managed to aid us further in our quest for Mister Potter using the memories Severus provided for us. We have only a general idea of Harry's whereabouts but we are getting nearer. He's been hidden well."

"It's good to know that he continues to be safe. It's frustrating, Sir, that we cannot find him but it wouldn't be Harry otherwise."

"Quite, Miss Granger."

"Ginny's marriage contract..." Hermione said thoughtfully. Once more Harry and Ginny were being talked about and it was obvious if you had half-a-brain, let alone being the brightest witch Hogwarts had seen in a century, that it all connected together. "This has got something to do with Harry...hasn't it?"

"You know me too well, Miss Granger." Albus chuckled at Hermione's blushing face. "I do think that this may be case. Remus did more than just successfully contact Harry. He _saw_ him, spoke to him and noticed that he was wearing a wedding ring."

"H...he actually _saw_ Harry. Viewing pensive memories are all very well, Sir, but they can never take the place of an actual meeting. Was he well? Did he look as if he'd been eating enough? His relatives never fed him properly..." Hermione snapped her mouth shut before saying quietly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push."

Albus leant across the table and patted her hand comfortingly. "No need to be sorry, Miss Granger. You've done nothing wrong."

"Did Harry say anything to help us know where he is?" She stopped and her mouth dropped open as the knut finally dropped. "Wedding ring!" she exclaimed. "Harry's _married_!"

"Remus allowed me to see a pensieve memory of their meeting in the wizarding area in Aberdeen – it's very small – just a couple of stores. Harry looked well, dressed in a muggle business suit, but gave very little away and I didn't expect him to. He's too shrewd to do that but I, too, noticed the wedding ring. He did not try to hide it in any way."

"Then he has married Ginny," she said, her voice ringing with conviction. "Harry Potter," she muttered under her breath. "Wait till I get my hands on the both of you."

The headmaster looked surprised. "You seem so certain without even having to consider it, Miss Granger. You don't think that it could be a ruse or that Harry could have met and married someone else while he was away from us?"

"Not Harry," she said definitely. "He loved Ginny. He really loved her and he wouldn't risk someone else – a muggle for instance - getting too close. Merlin, he broke up with her to protect her. Consider that I've been his best friend since he was eleven – there's not many that know Harry as well as I do. Ginny's the only witch strong enough to get him to change his mind. She's the only girl for him. So if it's not some sort of hoax, which I doubt, then Harry has married Ginny."

Albus wasn't being told anything he didn't already suspect to be true. He had hoped that someone would disagree with his ideas. But so far no one _had_ disagreed that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley could still be single. All he had to wait for was official proof of the marriage and he was sure that Hermione would find it.

There was a sharp pop and a house elf appeared before them. "Headmaster Dumbledore," it said solemnly, "wizard with dark skin has face in fireplace. Urgent message"

"My office?" Dumbledore asked, glancing at his watch. Kingsley was late tonight.

"Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore." The elf disappeared with another sharp pop.

"Excuse me, Miss Granger."

"It has to be Kingsley with something for the Order," muttered Hermione. "Would you mind if I came too?"

"I cannot see why not. You can leave if it is for my ears only." Dumbledore quickly led the way to his office where Fawkes greeted him with a quiet trill of pleasure.

"Albus!" The anxious voice emanated from the floo as soon as they entered the office.

"Kingsley? Come through."

The tall figure of Kingsley Shacklebolt unfolded himself from the floo. "Albus! We have a problem – a major problem!"

The headmaster seated himself behind his desk. "Go on."

Hermione chewed her lip. "I'll just go back to the library – in fact, I should be getting home," she murmured with a guilty look at the time. "Ron's match should have finished an hour ago."

Kingsley glanced at Hermione. "Miss Granger should also hear this as it will affect all of us. It concerns Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley. Albus, we need to have a word with Bill Weasley." He sighed. "Bill, as the current head of house Weasley, registered today the marriage of his sister, Ginevra Molly, to one Harry James Potter."

Albus straightened, his voice cracking like a whip. "What!"

"Potter and Ginny Weasley are married," said the tall auror heavily. "We have official proof. Not only of Potter's actions but that Bill Weasley knows where he is."

Dumbledore sank back in his chair, long fingers gripping the bridge of his nose. "Oh, Harry," he murmured. "What have you done?"

"How do you know?" asked Hermione, her face white. She knew it was the truth, she'd stated it herself only moments before.

"Potter's name is one that sets off sparks..." Kingsley began explaining.

"Literally?" interrupted Hermione.

"Yes. Anything happening with regard to Potter has sparks flying and bells ringing in certain offices. Since he disappeared we have things closely monitored. If Harry's name appears in any official documents, the aurors attached to the Order will know." The auror managed a strained smile. "As will the Ministry officials and any of our enemies."

The headmaster scribbled something on a piece of parchment and with a flash of golden fire Fawkes took it and was gone. He pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose with a long thin finger. The proof he was seeking had come quicker than expected. Part of him had hoped that they would all be wrong. "Do the Malfoys know about this?"

Shacklebolt shrugged. "If they don't know now they soon will. Lucius Malfoy has entrenched himself too well into the Ministry – Old Pureblood money still talks and no one liked galleons and gifts like Fudge did. Scrimgeour considers Malfoy a necessary evil that he has to deal with as part of his job – he can't get rid of him as much as he wants to. Lucius is a dangerous man and has his own Ministry spies willing to inform him of anything that may help You-know-who. Albus, you know that Rufus is not going to be happy about this. Bill Weasley's landed himself, and by association, the Order in a lot of trouble."

"You think Scrimgeour will act? He has no love for me, that I know," admitted Dumbledore. "But we respect one another's stance on many things. He is not a supporter of Voldemort and we need all the help we can get."

"Of course," said the dark auror quietly. He looked at Hermione explaining, "Scrimgeour has been pressuring Albus to produce Harry for years now and doesn't believe that the boy is away training for the time he is called to defeat You-know-who. He wants to use him as a Ministry propaganda tool."

"Harry would hate being used like that," said Hermione. "But the Minister would have to find him to persuade him."

Shacklebolt's face was grave. "For Bill Weasley to have done what he did today, the only explanation is that he knows where they are. The Minister will demand Harry's presence at the Ministry and then the Malfoys will press charges..."

Hermione's hand flew to her lips in a silent gasp. "But if Harry and Ginny don't appear...?"

"Then Bill will be arrested in Harry's place," said Shacklebolt.

"How much of Bill's conversation did you hear between him and the Malfoys this morning?" asked Albus.

"Not much," she confessed. "I was more concerned with what Percy was going to do and working out how I was going to prevent it from taking place. As it happened, there were words and Bill left. They didn't seem friendly towards one another but I suppose that would be stating the obvious. I heard him mention Sirius and something about the Black Tapestry. Sirius removed the names of the Malfoys and Lestranges from the tapestry and returned Andromeda Tonks to the family."

Dumbledore's eyes widened and a tinge of annoyance crossed the normally benign countenance. He'd hoped for more information than that. "Send a _Patronus_ to Bill. We need to talk to him immediately. I should have been informed about something of this magnitude."

"Bill's never said anything to you?" Kingsley asked Hermione, his face a picture of surprise.

Dumbledore glanced at Hermione and she shook her head. "He and Fleur haven't said anything to any of us."

"Would Fleur be party to this?"

Hermione shrugged. "I wouldn't think that Bill could keep something like this from Fleur – the rest of the family possibly, but not Fleur. She's not stupid and they're too close to keep anything like that from each other."

"So it's almost a certainty that Bill and Fleur know of Harry and Ginny's location," muttered Kingsley. "Merlin, Albus! This is one big mess."

"Harry was never formally accused of having anything to do with Ginny's disappearance..." began Hermione.

"It was only a matter of time," confessed Kingsley. "If Harry hadn't vanished then..." He rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Percy Weasley wanted someone to blame and the Malfoys would have done anything to discredit him. Harry was to have been arrested."

Hermione sank into one of the available seats. "Bill must have registered the marriage this morning – it is his right to do so as the Head of the Weasley family. But he said he was on goblin business."

"He would hardly tell you, Hermione," retorted Kingsley irritably, "that he was registering his sister's marriage. He'd want to keep it quiet until the last possible moment, especially as she's supposed to be marrying Draco Malfoy. She's married illegally and to _Harry_ of all people. Nothing could make the Malfoys angrier."

Hermione blushed but persisted with her questions. "What about the contract? The marriage would not be accepted. Ginny could be imprisoned, lose her magic..."

Dumbledore tapped a long thin finger against his lips. "You think the marriage has been accepted magically?"

"Yes," said Kingsley. "There's no doubt of it."

Dumbledore gave a faint smile. "If the marriage has been accepted magically, then there is every possibility that it _is_ a legal one."

Kingsley rubbed his forehead, hoping to massage away his looming headache. "That would be why Scrimgeour has the lawyers looking at it already." He bit off an expletive. "They are searching for the original document which is filed at the Ministry." He gave the headmaster an apologetic look. "The Minister is furious about this, Albus. He thinks you're being deliberately obstructive in his access to Harry – the one wizard who could renew people's faith in the Ministry – the chosen one."

"That's because I was," said Albus calmly. "It was unfair to put that sort of pressure upon Harry when he was a child and when he became of age, he didn't want to do it."

"Rufus is determined that when he shows up Harry's pressed straight into Ministry service whether he wants to or not." Kingsley caught the headmaster's eyes and held them. "This is the kind of thing that could give him the leverage to do so. He's not above using threats of imprisonment."

"We cannot allow that to happen." Dumbledore's eyes grew cold at the thought. "Harry has the right to a private life and he would be in far more danger at the Ministry. Voldemort has many supporters deep within the government."

"It has to be that blank piece of parchment," mumbled Hermione to herself. "It just has to."

Dumbledore turned his head sharply to stare at the witch. She'd mentioned a blank piece of parchment before. "Blank or faded?" he wondered aloud. "If the parchment Mary was examining was the Malfoy contract, then it has failed in some way and I have again failed Harry. He has never been good at trusting those in authority and will be less likely to trust us now than he ever was before."

Hermione's eyes filled with tears. "We told him there was nothing that could be done, didn't we?"

Dumbledore sighed. "We did. He obviously had some sort of prior agreement with Miss Weasley which meant that the Malfoy contract failed to 'take'. He should have told us about this beforehand. We will need to do some damage control on this."

Hermione stood up, her hands on her hips, unconsciously copying the irate stance her future mother-in-law favoured, her tears forgotten. They were ignoring Harry's rights and feelings and talking about him as if he were just a thing to do what they wanted him to. "Albus Dumbledore," she screeched, in a manner reminiscent of Minerva McGonagall. "Shouldn't you be glad that they're both safe and that Ginny's not fighting for her life in the depths of Malfoy Manor? Harry and Ginny have a right to a little privacy or are you now deciding who we should love? _Damage control_!"

"Harry can't protect her," said Dumbledore calmly. "They could both be fighting for their lives as we speak and we wouldn't know about it. Because of Voldemort's curse, his magic isn't strong enough!"

"How do you know?" argued back Hermione. "This is Harry we're talking about. He must have protected her for the past five years – that's if she let him," she added with a wry smile. "Ginny's no damsel in distress. She could be the one protecting him if she has her magic and he does not. Magic or not, no one has been able to find either of them." She scowled. "And don't tell me that we haven't scoured the land looking for them."

Kingsley allowed a smirk to cross his face. "True," he muttered. "The boy did manage to portkey Severus safely back to Hogwarts. That is not the action of a weak wizard."

"Harry always pulls through against the odds," said Hermione fervently. "He has to. Who else can do it?" She didn't mention the prophecy – she didn't have to.

"Mr. Potter may have just gone too far this time. The Malfoys will not accept it."

"They may have no choice," retorted Hermione.

Dumbledore rose gracefully to his feet, his expression grave. He knew what that curse did and Harry could have set any recovery back years by performing that one spell. "Come, we need to see Bill Weasley. Kingsley?"

"I'll come. I'm off duty." He looked enquiringly at the young woman standing beside the headmaster. "Hermione?"

Hermione quickly weighed her options. "I'll meet you at The Burrow," she decided. "My cloak's in the library and I need to contact Ron. I should have been home an hour ago and he'll be worried."

"Quickly, Hermione," said the headmaster. "I suspect that Hogwarts will soon receive a visit from Lucius Malfoy and the aurors under his control and we want to be away before then. Bill will surely be expecting us. It takes no stretch of the imagination to think that The Burrow would be next."

The witch hurried from the office, her expression troubled. She should have seen it. Bill had missed several meetings and had been increasingly distant with Dumbledore. It was possible that he'd known about Harry and Ginny for some time. But why hadn't he said anything? He hadn't even told his own mother. Molly would be overjoyed to find out that her daughter was safe. Kingsley and Dumbledore would speak to Bill while she would go home and tell Molly and Ron the good news.

As she tightened the cloak about her neck, a thought struck her Maybe Bill had told Molly after all. Hermione swallowed, her limbs shaky. Still, Harry and Ginny were safe and had somehow managed to circumvent the awful contract. She should have had more faith in Harry, she really should. If the marriage was legal then the Malfoys couldn't take Ginny away. With a flick of her wand, her otter Patronus disappeared off into the chilly night to tell Ron that she was on her way home. She had the feeling that the awful limbo they'd been living in for the past five years – waiting for V...Voldemort to resurrect himself once more - had suddenly vanished.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men' - John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton

25


	33. Chapter 33

**The Unbreakable Vow 33**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.**

**Shielhill Cottage**

The telephone rang shrilly, the sound jarring in the convivial air of the Shielhill Cottage kitchen. Tonks and Remus jumped at the unexpected intrusion of the unfamiliar noise.

"It's just the phone," Harry murmured, moving across to answer it. "Probably someone selling double glazing." Remus and Tonks looked at him blankly.

"Windows," said Ginny knowledgeably. "Two layers of glass. Keeps out most of the weather."

"What?" asked Tonks. "Windows... I knew that..."

She was quickly shushed into silence by a smirking Ginny.

"Peters," Harry said stiffly. "Yes!" At the sound of a familiar voice he relaxed and turned to Ginny. "It's Fred," he said.

Ginny nodded, reading the signals which said that Harry wanted to talk to him alone. He would tell her everything later. "Come on, let's get a comfy seat." She led her guests from the kitchen leaving Harry to talk to his brother-in-law in peace.

"Okay, Fred," he said quietly. "We have visitors. One unexpected and the other sort of planned but it's okay to talk."

"Who...oh!" Fred chuckled. "Remus took the bait?"

"That he did. And would you believe, Tonks is the other?" Harry offered dryly. "She was a bit of a surprise. You've maybe heard by now that there was a Death Eater attack in Elgin? I suspect they decided that Snape isn't as dead as they left him and they were looking for him or leaving him a message. Tonks turned up with the aurors and then stayed behind over a little hunch that she had. Her hunch led her to an encounter with my darling wife who, having little choice, brought Tonks home with her."

"I did hear some rumours about the raid," said Fred. "Elgin is a little too close to you and Ginny to be mere coincidence."

"I'm sure that Snape's the reason for the raid and not us. Well, Ginny got that impression from what she overheard but..." Harry sighed. "Anyway, you have news?"

"Expect some more visitors," said Fred, his voice unexpectedly serious. "The Order and the Ministry are now rather aware of your marriage. Bill registered it with Mary Spiderwicke this morning."

Harry glanced at the direction his wife and friends had taken and lowered his voice. "Mary who?"

"Mary Spiderwicke. Lovely lady who works in the department of wizarding records."

Harry frowned. "What on earth did he do that for?"

"Didn't he tell you? No, of course he didn't or you wouldn't be asking. The goblins advised him to do it after they finished checking your documentation. Legally the Ministry and the Malfoys can do nothing. Your marriage is as it should be. I believe that a public announcement would make it more difficult for the Malfoys to assert their claim and besides, it's Bill's duty."

"Tie it up in red tape," mused Harry.

"Eh! Why would you want to wrap yourself in sticky muggle stuff." Fred shrugged. "Sounds kinky to me."

"It's just a phrase. Muggle-speak," Harry added quickly. "It's sort of like getting your plans twisted in amongst a clump of Devil's snare. The more pieces of parchment in existence, the more difficult they are to ignore."

"I get it," chortled Fred. "Ministerial Bureaucracy on a level that only Percy deals with. Cauldron Bottoms and Floo powder, anyone?"

Harry laughed.

"We should just sit back and watch them all running about and getting their wands twisted over this new development," said Fred with relish.

"It's not a new development. Ginny and I have been together for five years and married for four of them." Harry sighed. "But I guess it's new to them. Did they really think that Ginny and I would just let them walk all over us?"

"I think they did," said Fred thoughtfully. "They forgot who you were and they shouldn't have. The Malfoys are the type who think they can do anything they want to anybody – too accustomed to power - and are surprised when anyone deigns to stand up to them." He laughed again. "You weren't a grownup the last time the Ministry decided to walk all over you and now you are. You have rights – your marriage and family life is private."

"They won't see it like that," muttered Harry. "The boy-who-bloody-lived is public property and all that rot."

"But you're not a boy now," stated Fred, chuckling. "You're '_the-man-who-was-the boy-who-lived_'"

"Merlin!" swore Harry. "That's a mouthful and a half. Please, no more hyphens."

"Deal with the Ministry the way you think best. We'll back you up. You're family."

"Jamie?" Harry suddenly asked urgently. "Do they know about Jamie?"

Fred immediately stopped laughing. "The charms Madam Pomfrey put in place are still holding, as far as we can tell, but are bound to weaken further as your magic recovers and with each new discovery of Jamie's existence."

"Are you sure?"

"Harry," Fred said calmly. "I, or it could have been George, asked her specifically about the protective charms she used. We will do anything to protect our nephew." He grinned wickedly. "We have a priceless legacy of pranks to pass on."

A lump formed in Harry's throat. For much of his life he hadn't had a true family and then he'd met the Weasleys. "Thanks," he muttered huskily. "Not for the future mayhem Ginny and I are going to have to endure but well...thanks."

"No, Harry, we need to thank you. You helped Ginny when we couldn't."

"I couldn't let Malfoy have her," Harry said. "Pathetic git couldn't have coped with _my_ redhead," he gritted possessively before saying rather lamely, his face flushing, "We love one another." He was glad Fred couldn't see his face.

"Harry, in the light of Bill's actions, Mum, Bill and Fleur will be arriving shortly for a few days," said Fred. "And I mean shortly – within the next half hour. They'll be a bit of a target and we need them safe."

"I'll get the rooms ready," said Harry. "It's no problem. I did say they could stay anytime. Hiding from the Ministry – I can understand that."

"No, we're hiding more from Dumbledore than the Ministry, I think."

Harry's lips tightened. "I can understand that, too."

"Although the Ministry and the Malfoys are a very close second." Fred gave a little chuckle. "I never knew that telephone boxes actually had real telephones in them - that you could just dial a number and muggles spoke to you. The muggles are so inventive. Dad was right. But we discovered that you had to dial the right set of numbers otherwise the muggles we spoke to got rather irritable."

Harry grinned. "Nothing worse than having to answer a wrong number. Aren't you using your own phone?"

"No, our phone melted after we tested its reaction against certain potion ingredients."

Harry winced at the thought of the fallout from that little experiment. "Hermione won't be happy unless you replace her phone."

"She's already replaced it – we gave her the galleons. Thought it was a good idea. We're in a phone box in the muggle world just off Charing Cross Road. It's just the easiest thing to leave through The Leaky Cauldron... but then you would know how to do that, Harry."

"Listen, it might be better if you and George also come here for a day or two. Being under the Fidelius will give us all time to consider what our next move should be."

"We should be okay."

"When Dumbledore, the Ministry and the Malfoy family can't find Bill or Molly where do you think they'll look next?" Harry could hear Fred mutter something to George. They were both in the phone box! Harry hoped there weren't any policemen about.

"Good point, brother-in-law. Of course, they will come looking for us – we would if we were them. Angelina and Katie will mind the shop while we take a brief, sudden sabbatical. We'll say that we have a genius of an idea for a new product and have warded ourselves into the experimental potions lab. There's nothing that will get us out of there until we're ready to appear."

"In other words," said Harry. "Pranking lockdown."

"Yeah," said Fred with a grin. "Ron and Hermione are aware of the delicate conditions that accompany such instructions."

"What happened?"

There was a smug chuckle. "Hermione and Ron were unable to go to work for three days. She still glares at us when it's mentioned and that incident happened a year ago. We'd rather not say what it was. We would like our bits to remain intact and where nature intended them to be."

Harry understood. "Ah," he said softly. "Hermione will extract her revenge and it will be something truly incredible. She can be quite terrifying when devising punishments. Guys, can I ask you a question?"

There was the sound of shuffling and shifting on the other end of the phone. "George here," said George sounding slightly winded. "Ask away, Harrikins."

"I don't think I need to now," muttered Harry, hoping that he hadn't really heard the nickname. "You're both in that phone box?"

"We've expanded it a little but it's still a tight squeeze," the twins said in perfect unison.

"Good grief!" Harry exclaimed. "I would get yourselves here as soon as possible...and return the phone box to its original state before the accidental magical reversal squad along with the obliviators arrive. That's as good as gift wrapping yourself to Dumbledore and you don't want to do that. I'll see you when you get here. The gates will let you in." Harry replaced the phone in its cradle and made his way through to the lounge. He caught his wife's eye from the doorway and motioned her to him. "Ginny, we've got guests coming," he said quietly. "Bill has apparently gone to the Ministry and registered our marriage and now all hell's about to break loose."

"Bill did?" Ginny's face lit up, ignoring Harry's comment about 'hell breaking loose'. "Wonderful! The head of the witch's family does it once the honeymoon has ended and the marriage has been er... consummated. It's tradition. There's generally a party afterwards - although it doesn't usually happen four years after the marriage. I know Bill's approval is given to us but this makes it even better. The whole wizarding world can see that we're meant to be together and that magic itself has given us its consent."

Harry caressed her cheek with his finger, his lips curving into a smile as he witnessed her delight. She was so beautiful and he loved her so much. "I didn't know any of this. There's still so much of the wizarding world that I don't know about. I'm glad..."

Her brief, soft kiss was full of sweetness. "It's a blessing."

"Yes," he murmured. "We were right to do what we did."

"When do you expect everyone to start arriving?" Ginny asked, her voice a whisper of sound against Harry's ear.

He gave a delighted little shiver as her lips delicately traced his earlobe. "As soon as they're ready to come. Within the next half hour Fred said." Merlin, his wife could raise his temperature quicker than anything else he knew with just a touch. He turned his head and dropped a kiss on her soft cheek. "We'll cope."

"What about Remus and Tonks?" interrupted Ginny anxiously. "If Mum, Bill and Fleur are going to be arriving..."

"And Fred and George..." Harry chipped in helpfully. "Maybe."

"Fred and George, too? Oh, Merlin!" Ginny started calculating the quantity of spare beds and clean linens that they had in the house. "I'd better go and get the beds ready..."

Harry stayed her with a gentle hand upon her arm. "I'll help you. I don't want you rushing around and tiring yourself out."

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. "Harry James Potter! I'm fine – stop being so insulting."

"I didn't mean to malign your Weasley-nurturing little heart or stamina, sweetheart, but I'm still going to help. You know that you'll be mad at me later if I don't."

"I would not..." Ginny protested.

"Oh, I think you would, sweetheart. We work together. That's something that I've learned. We are not alone."

Ginny pulled him close and kissed him. "It took you long enough to learn."

"It did but I'm working on it." He smiled at her. "Remus and Tonks could stay, too, if they wanted to and that's a lot of people to suddenly house. I'm hoping they don't want to stay tonight. Remus still doesn't like going against Albus – I think, because of his condition. It will take time for him to become a rash Gryffindor once again and Tonks has her day job to think about."

Ginny nodded. "We can offer. It would be strange if we did not."

The sound of approaching footsteps halted Harry and Ginny's conversation. "Listen," said Tonks. "I need to get back to headquarters and file my report. If I'm late again, Amelia will have me on desk duty for the next six months. I hate being on desk duty."

"I'll go back with her," said Remus quietly.

"You don't have to," said Harry. "You could stay over. You could both stay."

"That's very kind of you, Harry, but I've nothing with me apart from the clothes I'm wearing."

"You have a wand," said Harry with a smirk.

"I know, but I've never been comfortable with transfigured underwear."

"You could scourgify them," said Harry.

Remus just gave the younger man a look of disgust. "Please, Mister Potter, could you be any more uncouth? It ruins the fabric and I have no desire to be bursting out of my underpants..."

"Fair enough," muttered Ginny.

"I do it far too often as it is."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Too much information there, Remus, although I'm sure Tonks likes it."

The werewolf froze and blushed before chuckling and then levelling a serious expression at the Potters. "I won't say anything at the moment but I still think you should come clean, Harry. I _will_ eventually tell Albus that I know where you are if you don't. He's been very worried about you. He _does_ care, you know. We're also wasting valuable time and energy searching for you when instead we could be fighting Death Eaters."

"So stop searching for me," declared Harry stoutly. "We don't want to be found. I think it's inevitable that Dumbledore will have to be told where I am but I don't want him coming in and trying to run my life for me again. He only cares that I do the job he's planned for me which is killing Voldemort." His gaze caught Ginny's and softened. "I don't want him risking you, Jamie and the blob over his plans for the greater good. We've done very well mainly on our own up until now." He stretched out his hand towards Remus. "It's good to see you, Moony. Don't be a stranger. Thank you for keeping our secret a little longer. This means a lot to me."

"Harry..." The werewolf's hazel eyes caught Harry's vivid green ones. "Voldemort is more of a threat than Albus will ever be. You're wrong about him."

"Am I?" Harry asked bitterly. "I'm not so sure. At least I know what Voldemort wants of me."

"And what about Ron and Hermione?"

"Soon," the young man promised, a lump forming in his throat. He wanted to, _by Merlin_, he wanted to but it was just so _damn_ hard. The irrational part of his brain wanted to keep his ordinary happy family life to himself but Ron and Hermione had been his friends – his _best_ friends and he missed them both so much. Five years ago, he'd not told them about his waning magic which meant that they'd no chance of understanding the anger and trapped isolation that he'd felt. Ron's immaturity and Hermione's reliance on so-called authority figures had further widened the gulf and, more importantly, they hadn't truly understood what the loss of Ginny would have done to him.

The problem was that Harry, himself, hadn't understood what losing Ginny would have meant to him until it had nearly happened. And now, because he'd selfishly taken what he'd wanted, they were all balancing on the dangerous edge of the precipice that made up his life.

Ginny pulled her wand from her pocket and gave it a quick flick. "The apparition wards are down temporarily for the next ten minutes." She smirked cheekily. "And during that window of opportunity you can apparate out from the front doorstep."

"Not from inside the house?"

She shook her head. "Only Harry and I can do that. It's one of the security measures that the goblins put in. After the ten minutes are up, you have to hike all the way down to the gates and I'm just warning you that snow is forecast."

"It was very cold when I arrived," admitted Remus with a theatrical shudder. "Snow wouldn't surprise me at all.

Ginny gave the werewolf's threadbare jacket a critical glance. "You should have put on something warmer," she advised. "We are quite far north here and it is December."

"I wasn't expecting a port key trip when I emptied my pockets back in Grimmauld Place," murmured Remus ruefully, wondering exactly where they were. He shrugged lightly. "I'd sat myself in front of the fire ready to pour myself a fire whisky. Hopefully it will still be there when we return." He lifted amber eyes, the wolf visible for a moment in the sternness of his gaze. "Harry, don't leave it five more years until I see you again."

Harry shuffled his feet, suddenly resembling the teenager he'd been just before he'd disappeared. "Sorry, Moony."

"That's okay, cub. I forgive you."

Harry placed his hand on Remus' shoulder and pulled him in for a hug. "I knew you would. I'm okay, Moony. I'm happier than I've ever been and my magic has almost recovered and, yes, I did get proper magical confirmation from a respected member of the medical profession."

"Poppy," muttered Remus. "She knew?"

Harry shrugged, neither confirming nor denying that the Hogwarts' mediwitch knew any information about his condition. "Life is about to go back to normal."

"Yes – or whatever passes for normal in our lives." Remus glanced towards Tonks. He had a lot to think about and decisions to make. "We need to go, Dora, if you're going to post that report before morning."

"I have to write it first," moaned Tonks. She hated that regrettably necessary part of her job.

Ginny wrapped her arms around the pink-haired auror. "I trust you to keep us safe, Dora. Don't give up on the wolf. He's a man and they don't know their arses from their elbows..."

"Ginny!" exclaimed Harry.

"Oh, give over, Potter. I've heard you say far worse than that," snapped his unrepentant wife. "I mean it, Dora." She stepped away into Harry's embrace. "Take control of your wizard...werewolf."

Tonks blushed and then chuckled. "He never had a chance once I decided that I wanted him. I'm rather tenacious when I want something that badly and I'm not giving up on him no matter what he thinks or does."

"I would just give in, Moony, old chap. It's easier," advised Harry. "My parents had no long and happy life together because of Voldemort; therefore you owe it to yourself to live as well as you can for as long as you can." He slanted a sideways look at Ginny. "That's what I decided to do."

Ginny rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Eventually," she drawled. "I had to persuade him and it took time. You know, Mr. we-can't-be-together-because-I'm-Voldemort's-number-one-target."

"How did you do that?" asked Remus.

"Made him jealous," said Ginny succinctly. "Another guy tried to chat me up and I let him."

"I did it to keep you safe, Gin," Harry whined, looking unhappy.

"And did it work – your attempt to keep me safe by breaking up with me?" the redhead asked tartly. "Of course, it didn't."

"There's still time for you to escape from the shackles of matrimony, Moony," Harry said mournfully. "Us poor downtrodden wizards..."

Tonks grinned at Ginny, who was glaring at her apparently still despondent husband. "That's your proper place Potter. Come on Lupin, it's time to go home. Ginny's window of apparition will close in roughly four minutes and before you get any ideas into your head about your freedom, Wolfie, I caught you and therefore I'm keeping you."

"Better do as I'm told," he muttered, with a wary look at a now bouncy Tonks.

Harry's face brightened and he pulled a card out of his pocket. "You do know how to use a telephone?"

"Yes," said the werewolf wryly. "I'm a wizard, not a cave dweller. I've often had to find work in the muggle world. Dealing with muggles on a day to day basis means that I am quite familiar with using the telephone."

"I didn't want to assume." Harry proffered the thin white rectangle to Remus. "Here... our phone number."

"This one won't whisk me away to some horrible location?"

"No. This isn't a portkey, Remus," said Harry, grinning. "It's just a piece of card. The information on it won't mean anything to most wizards unless they're muggle born – just a set of numbers."

Ginny tapped her wrist. "Time is running out. The apparition window closes in three minutes."

There was a final flurry of swift goodbyes and then the Potters were alone. Harry dropped a kiss on Ginny's bright curls as she muttered the incantation to close the apparition window. "Come on, we'd better get the house ready for our guests. It won't be for long. Everything is about to come out into the open."

"I agree." Ginny yawned as they climbed the stairs. "Fleur and Bill can go into the front bedroom. Mum can go into the one next to Jamie's room and we can transfigure a couple of mattresses in the study for the Twins if they decide to stay."

"Sounds about right," agreed Harry. "Do we do this the magic way or the muggle way?"

Ginny shook her head pityingly at him. "They're arriving almost immediately and it's rather late. What do you think?"

"Okay," he said matter-of-factly, squashing the impulse to grin like a deranged idiot. "Magic it is." His wand flew into his hand and with a couple of flicks and swishes, a flowery duvet cover and matching pillows graced the bed. He admired his handiwork with a satisfied smile. How he could have lived without his magic for so long defied explanation.

"Thanks, love," she murmured. "You've not lost the knack." She moved to the room Fleur and Bill were to use and copied Harry's wand manoeuvres. Moments later a set of pale blue and gold stripy covers were in place.

"Hello?" A voice called loudly from downstairs.

Ginny stiffened for a moment. "That's Bill. The twins weren't joking when they said they would be arriving soon" She finished folding a set of matching fluffy towels and laid them on the bed. "I should go down and ask them the security question."

Harry blinked. "Do we have one? I didn't think that we did because the wards would only let through those we approved."

"Oh!"

"It's a good idea though...having questions," he said thoughtfully. "Your mum and dad used to have them. We can do that next time."

"What happened to 'constant vigilance'?" Ginny peeped into Jamie's bedroom, glad to hear him snuffle quietly in his sleep.

"Just because I'm not prepared doesn't mean that I'm not." He headed for the top of the stairs, twirling his holly wand beneath his fingers. It felt good to be able to use it freely once more.

"That makes no sense, Mr. Potter," said Ginny. "But I think I can guess what your little brain is trying to explain."

"Less of the 'little', Mrs. Potter," retorted Harry cheekily. "My brain is an organ of amazing depth and complexity."

Ginny snorted. "Like the Marianas Trench? Please," she reminded him. "...I told you that I was the brains of this partnership."

"And I'm the good looking one?" Harry sent his most innocent expression towards his wife.

"Nope, that's me too," Ginny retorted smartly. "I win all round."

"Hello! Harry! Ginny! The door was open. Where the hell are they?"

"Definitely Bill," Ginny and Harry said together.

"We're up here, be down in a minute," shouted Ginny, before saying to her husband quietly, "You go down, Harry. I just want to check that the bathrooms are clean. I can't have my mother inspecting my bathrooms and finding fault with our housekeeping skills."

Harry descended the stairs to find an impatient Bill Weasley pacing irritably in the hallway. "Harry!" he exclaimed. "Where were you?"

"Upstairs getting beds ready."

The eldest Weasley appeared to be quite agitated.

"Calm down, Bill. Did something happen?" asked Harry suddenly worried. "Where are Fleur and Molly?"

"We're here," Fleur called softly from the lounge doorway. "Everything is fine. I collected Molly and we apparated to the approved co-ordinates closest to your gates. I was assuming that the Fidelius would hide the gates until we actually walked through them. Just in case we were followed, _oui_?"

Harry nodded and then glanced at his brother-in-law who still looked anxious. The full moon had passed, so that couldn't be what was affecting the tall redhead. "Bill?"

Bill frowned. "I'm not so sure about fine. Did Fred...?"

Harry nodded. "Fred phoned and told me that you'd informed the Ministry that Ginny and I had united in holy matrimony."

"What?"

"We married in a church." He looked at Bill thoughtfully. "Can wizards and witches marry in holy matrimony or is that an oxymoron?" He shrugged. "It doesn't matter as long as we're married and it's legal in the eyes of the muggle _and_ magical officials."

"The goblins advised me that I should go ahead and register," murmured Bill. "They're on your side, thanks to whatever Sirius did for them."

"It involved gold and goblin made artefacts," said Harry smoothly. "But it does take away our element of surprise."

"They had to know sooner or later," murmured Bill. "Dumbledore has definitely been informed and although I knew that would happen..."

"To be expected, Bill," said Harry quietly. "It's the Harry Potter effect. Weren't you aware that I'm a famous wizard? Go on."

"I locked up Shell Cottage, set the wards and was about to apparate out when I heard the sound of several wizards arriving."

"Please tell me that it was the Order?" asked Harry, dreading the thought that it may have been Death Eaters. If Dumbledore knew then the Death Eaters would also know. Why had Bill not got the goblins to ward his home?

Bill nodded. "It was the Order. I recognised Moody, Shacklebolt and, of course, Dumbledore arriving just as I apparated out. Shell Cottage is now under a Fidelius Charm and fully warded by me with the aid of my employers."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "I was going to suggest that."

"But the likes of Dumbledore knows the location because it is better that an Order member does so. He is still the leader of the Order, Harry."

"Of course, he is," the young man responded. "But he isn't yet trusted with the knowledge of _my_ whereabouts."

Molly had joined Fleur at the lounge door. "We cannot divide into different factions like this, Harry," she said quietly. "It won't help you and Ginny or my wonderful grandson. We're a family and families stay together. We've been broken for so long." She gave a tearful sniff. "We _need_ Albus and the Order to help us fight. We...you...cannot do this alone."

"He saw me leave, Harry," Bill admitted. "And he was angry. Oh, he looked the same as he always does - a purple robe with silver stars all over it and a matching hat – the quintessential wizard - but his eyes were cold. I've never seen Dumbledore look like that before – not at me." He sighed. "I was eleven and powerless all over again."

"Welcome to my world," said Harry quietly. "I don't want to be powerless any longer. I'm no longer a child unable to make my own decisions and sometimes he forgot that. I'm not saying that I always know best because I don't but I should be allowed to make my own mistakes."

Ginny joined them, tripping lightly down the stairs and hugged her mother tightly. "I'm glad you're here, Mum." She turned to her brother, her voice accusing. "I didn't think that you'd care how angry he was. He would have had me married to Malfoy without even looking for a way out. He treated Harry abominably, Bill, and I can't forgive him for that." She flicked a finger at a hole in her brother's cloak. "If that's newly damaged, the Order was shooting spells at you, too. We're supposed to be on the same side."

"That's what I just said, Ginny," said Molly.

"Yes, but sometimes you can't just follow someone blindly without questioning their actions. It makes us no better than a flock of sheep. I know you don't like going against Dumbledore," gritted out Ginny. "But he's human, too, and has made many mistakes. Much of this is his fault. We have to tell him that he's not always right."

"I don't like going against the headmaster – he's the most powerful wizard on our side and the only one that You-know-who ever feared. Being like this weakens us," argued Molly. "I didn't expect to be hiding from Albus or even some of my own children. Dividing our family like this is wrong. I kept your secret because you asked me to, Ginny, but I hoped you weren't going to continue this situation for much longer. I can't keep secrets from the likes of Albus Dumbledore if he's determined to find them out and it isn't fair to Ron and Hermione. What did they do to be left out like this?"

Ginny's lips tightened but she said nothing. Harry moved closer to his wife and put his arm around her, the silent support reassuring her of his continuing love. They both knew that Molly had a point but it was difficult to trust Dumbledore after all that he had done. As for Ron and Hermione – Harry had no real answer and he knew it.

"I wanted to give us all some extra time to consider our options," Bill admitted. "Partly because I was angry at Dumbledore on your behalf and I wanted to keep you all safe. I failed to do that the last time, Ginny. I wasn't here when you needed me – when you _both_ needed me." His eyes sought his sister's. "The goblins advised me to register your marriage for legal reasons. That it was a wizarding tradition was another. I wanted to march into the Ministry and shout your union to the whole atrium as is my right as head of the Weasley family but I couldn't do that. Harry, you and I both know that you can't stay hidden forever."

"I can try," snapped Harry.

"Ultimately you will fail," said Bill sadly. "You're a _wizard_, Harry. Your wife and child are _wizards_ and you are denying the three of you what is rightfully yours – your magic and your place in the magical world..."

"Voldemort is denying us. Not me," argued Harry.

Bill's face showed the tiredness he was feeling. "Whatever. I think your idyll...this safe little muggle bubble... whatever you want to call it, is over. Time's up."

"Can't you feel it calling for you?" asked Fleur, her accent thickening. "Your blood sings with the power of your magic, Harry. As a Veela, I can sense it."

Harry's face lit up in wonder. "You really can sense the power?"

"_Bien sur, _I can." Fleur stretched out a graceful hand and clasped Harry's arm reassuringly. "It is very strong."

"You have a right to go freely about your life," said Bill.

"With a Ministry of Magic who want to use me to cover their own failings and a psychotic murderous bastard after me and my family?" Harry shook his head, his expression fierce. "I don't think so. I will only be free when Voldemort is dead."

"The prophecy," murmured Fleur with a shudder. "It still counts?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure that it does." Harry's shoulders slumped, the fight fading from his eyes. "Give me Christmas," he begged. "I'll make myself known to the old man after Christmas. I deserve to have that much time with my family before I return to the wizarding world."

"What do you mean 'I'!" exclaimed Ginny. "You and I are a team, husband of mine. Whatever we do, we do it together. You return to the wizarding world and I come with you."

"But Ginny..."

"But nothing," she returned fiercely. "Team, remember."

Harry shook his head. "Jamie," he said. "We still have to protect Jamie and our other child to come. I need you to be there for them if..." He swallowed, his eyes suddenly bright with tears. "...if anything happens to me, which you have to admit may be the case. Voldemort will continue to come after me until one of us dies. I do not want my children to be left without a parent. Please, Ginny."

Ginny clenched her fists tightly, gathering her thoughts together. This wasn't fair of Harry to do this to her because deep down, she knew he was partly right. "I still say that we do things together. If something happens to you, do you think that old Voldie will leave _us_ alone? No, he won't."

"Ginny..."

She took a deep breath. "Harry, I don't like it but I understand and I will do my best to keep Jamie and the Blob safe."

Bill looked ashamed. "Harry...Ginny... I didn't mean..."

"We know." Ginny smiled wearily at her brother. "I can't believe you braved the Ministry and registered our marriage. Four years later than it should have been done but at least you did it."

"That's a little unfair, Gin. I only knew that you were married when the goblins called me just after Halloween." Bill swallowed. "It was the first time I knew for sure that you were safe. I would have placed a _sonorous_ spell over Diagon Alley and told the whole bloody world if I could."

Ginny's bright eyes widened. "I know, Bill. I didn't mean it to be a criticism."

"The goblins seemed to think that it would give you greater legal protection," offered Fleur. "You have enough to be concerned about with You-Know-Who back on the scene without worrying about the DMLE and the Wizengamot coming after you." She reached for her husband's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "They would come after you unless the legalities were tight. They cannot make your marriage disappear _pouf _into the air."

"He _is_ back, isn't he," said Harry. "Voldemort."

It wasn't a question.

"Snape's story confirms it," said Bill.

"Severus Snape wouldn't have been mutilated the way he was if his old master hadn't found a new way to return. It brought back some very unpleasant memories when I saw him." Harry's arm tightened around Ginny's waist. "'Blood of the enemy forcibly taken,'" Harry quoted gravely. "I do not like Severus Snape but I consider him to be a brave man."

"If you'd been just a few minutes later he probably would have been a dead man," said Molly. "Severus is lucky to be alive."

"As was I at the end of the third Tri-Wizard task and during other situations Dumbledore cooked up to test me." Harry's face was expressionless, his voice hard. His eyes tracked every person in the room. "I will not risk the lives of my family on one wizard's manipulations."

"Now," said Ginny brightly to cover the awkward silence. "Who would like a cup of tea and a small snack before bed?"

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**Shell Cottage**

"_Stupefy!"_

"Alastor!" Dumbledore shouted warningly. But it was too late. The spell had left the old Auror's wand and was streaking towards the tall, rangy figure of Bill Weasley, who disappeared with a sharp pop just before the spell connected.

"Damn it all to Hades, Albus!" swore Moody angrily. "Did you have to shout just as I was about to cast?"

"An auror of your standing shouldn't be distracted, Alastor," Dumbledore said genially.

"You wanted to stop him and I was about to do just that." Moody's magical eye swivelled wildly in its socket.

"Hexing him, Alastor, is not the best way to do that. We want Bill to know that we are not hostile…"

Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared out of the darkness, waving his wand in an intricate series of manoeuvres. "He's masked his magical signature. I'm not saying that I couldn't trace where he's gone but by the time I do he'll have moved elsewhere and I'll never catch him. It's the method that kept Sirius one step of the Ministry for so long." He glanced at Moody. "Did you hit him?"

Moody shook his head. "If I did, it just glanced off his cloak. His cloak will have several protective spells on it. That was just a stinging hex and the _stupefy _missed him when he apparated. Constant vigilance and all that. The goblins aren't stupid. Mean, ugly, vindictive little creatures but not stupid. Since Weasley works for them, they'll see that he's protected."

"He is an Order member, too, Alastor – not an enemy."

"He may be one of us but he'll give his loyalty to his family before the Order. I'm telling you, Albus, that there are more in that family keeping secrets. Have you thought of speaking to those ruddy twin menaces?" Moody jabbed his finger in the air to emphasise his point

Dumbledore wasn't often surprised but Bill Weasley had been far more independent than he'd given him credit for and he'd missed it. Bill had entered Gringotts as an apprentice cursebreaker immediately after leaving Hogwarts. Clever and capable he'd progressed quickly and had eventually been posted abroad only returning with the death of his father and the escalation of the war. "Family is important to the Weasleys and I should have foreseen that. I am occasionally fallible."

"You can't know everything, Albus," returned Moody gruffly. "Potter's just married his sister and has saved her from certain torture at the hands of Old Lucius and his masked chums. I can understand he feels that he wants to protect them – even from you. Yes, we lost a potential spy in the girl but she would not have been allowed to give us any useful information. She would have been watched at all times or made to take an oath not to betray her husband's family. I dare say it would have been spells of the darkest arts – possibly even _imperio - _but that's the Malfoys for you. Ruddy sodding evil bastards!"

Kingsley nodded, his expression stoic. He'd heard far worse language from the eccentric old auror before and anyway, he agreed with Alastor. The Malfoys were evil. "I didn't look to see _when_ they were married but if the marriage contract has almost faded to nothingness then they could have been married for at least a year – if not more. That's a very powerful binding and it will make it impossible to annul the match."

"An annulment!" Moody chuckled. "Not going to happen. The Weasleys are a red-blooded lot and Potter's a fit young man. How do you think Arthur and Molly got all those children?"

"Children?" The headmaster frowned. Surely not… Harry wouldn't. He tried to recall the last time he'd seen the Hogwarts book of entries and breathed a little easier. There were no Potter births recorded since Harry's own. In any case, Minerva would have noticed and drawn attention his attention to it. A child would complicate things and distract Harry's attention from what had to be done. But this was supposition - there had been no record of any Potter births. He dismissed the niggle from his mind.

"If the chit is as determined as her mother then she's not going to give up Potter and, Merlin knows, he's as stubborn as they come. I'm assuming they went muggle to hide which was a bloody good idea. Potter used his head. Would they be safe if they stayed muggle?"

"It's doubtful, Alastor," said Dumbledore. "Harry has a link to Voldemort and if his magic continues to recover then he _will_ be found."

"'If' being the word, Albus." Moody turned and raked his gaze across the silent Shell Cottage. "No point staying here any longer. The place is empty."

Dumbledore surveyed the scene. "Harry is a powerful young man and being able to create the portkey that saved Severus is nothing short of miraculous considering what such a dark curse does to the recipient. But I doubt if he could sustain such a level of magic for any length of time for several years yet."

Kinglsey Shacklebolt pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment before saying quietly, "I would have thought that we would have learned not to underestimate Harry Potter, Albus."

"You may be right, Kingsley. Come, we'll go to The Burrow," decided Albus. "Molly will need to be told, although I'm beginning to question whether she's in on this little secret, too."

"I haven't seen Molly for some time," mused Shacklebolt.

"Nor have I," agreed the headmaster. "She's been unable to attend meetings recently. It does make me wonder..."

"I'll head to Gringotts and see if the goblins know anything about Bill Weasley's activities." Moody pulled a battered silver hip flask from his pocket and took a swig of something alcoholic by the smell. It was probably firewhisky.

"It will be a futile task, Alastor," warned Dumbedore.

The old auror gave a rusty chuckle. "You can still learn things from the sneaky little bastards if you use a bit of Slytherin cunning and no, I wasn't in Slytherin, Albus."

"I know you weren't. I can still remember your sorting," said Albus with a wry smile. "Let me know if you learn anything from the goblins."

"Will do. Constant Vigilance!" he called and with a sharp crack Moody vanished.

Dumbledore took one last look at Shell Cottage before apparating away and reappearing in front of The Burrow where Hermione and a subdued-looking Ron were waiting for them. Two seconds later they were joined by Kingsley.

"There's no one here," gabbled Hermione anxiously.

"Ah!" said Albus. "I suspected that. As did you yourself, Miss Granger."

"Molly left a note." Hermione held out a crumpled piece of parchment. "I've done all the necessary spells. It's in Molly's own handwriting and it was done in a hurry."

Shacklebolt took the scrap of parchment from Hermione and ran a couple of diagnostic spells. "It's genuine – definitely Molly's writing but unfortunately it can't tell us if she wrote it willingly. We couldn't have missed her by much. This was only written about half an hour ago."

Ron was pale with worry, his freckles standing out in his white face. "She said that she's gone to stay with friends for a few days and not to worry. Some clothes are missing and an overnight bag."

"I filled him in, Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, looking miserable. "It's too suspicious for words. Molly doesn't have friends who are not in the Order – not now. I sent a Patronus to the twins. There's been no answer but that's nothing new."

"Harry was plotting with the twins before he left," spoke up Ron suddenly. "They're either in the middle of some top secret Wheezes product or they've gone into hiding, too. I know my brothers…or I thought I did. They've always been sure that Harry and Ginny were together."

Dumbledore patted Hermione on the shoulder. "At least we know more than we did before. They're safe, which is the main thing. Let me know if you hear anything from your mother or your brother, Mr. Weasley. I need to get back to the school," he apologized lightly. "I will take my leave."

"As will I," said Shacklebolt. "I'll be in touch."

A moment later the two wizards had vanished. Ron's gaze lingered on the spot for a moment, his hands clenched into fists but he said nothing.

Hermione put her arm around Ron and they walked slowly into the house. "You're very calm about this," murmured Hermione. "Well, calm for you, that is," she added apologetically.

"Oh, I'm angry," he said. "But funnily enough not at Harry. We now know that he's looked after Ginny."

"Or she's looked after him," offered Hermione, her voice trembling. "It's far more likely." The past few weeks seemed to have her in an emotional spin. She'd gone through far worse in the past but somehow, she'd reached and gone beyond a limit she didn't know that she had. "Why do you think they didn't get in touch with us?"

"There are many reasons. Too close to Dumbledore. Too close to Harry himself." He sighed, dropping his tired body onto the lumpy couch. "I've actually been thinking about things – analysing them like I would the tactics I use in a chess match. Harry probably felt that he had to do it, considering what we now know about his loss of magic. All the way through school Harry tried to push us away on a regular basis. He did it to us and he did it to Ginny because he thought that it would keep us safe. Alright, we tried to keep with him but he grew sneakier at it as time went on."

Hermione gaped at him. "I never considered it that way."

"And face it, Hermione, we weren't the most supportive set of friends he had before he left."

"We were...we...we..." Hermione stopped and swallowed. "We could have been better friends...couldn't we?"

Ron sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "We did what we could. Harry's been to darker places than you or I ever will."

"Who are you and what have you done with my fiancé?" asked Hermione slipping down beside him, her curly head resting on his shoulder.

Ron's ears grew warm. "I have to grow up sometime," he muttered. "Might as well be now. Harry's going to need us when he comes home."

"I love you just as you are," replied Hermione, sniffing slightly.

"You see," Ron began thoughtfully, as he conjured a handkerchief, "Even if he's doing it in his usual twisted Harry fashion, Harry's following the family rules – Weasleys together – apart from Percy who must have been swapped at birth. He can't possibly be a Weasley."

"But he's not actually a…" She paused, wiping her eyes. "Oh, but he is now, isn't he? Harry's officially family."

"He's been family since we met on the train to Hogwarts when we were eleven years old. You became family after the troll. He's just made it official. Why he thinks he had to marry my sister to do it, I don't know. There had to have been an easier way."

"Ron!" Hermione dug her elbow into his ribs. "You know why."

"Ow! Hermione!" Ron wriggled away from the offending elbow. "I'm not saying that it didn't hurt when he left because it does. Part of Harry's always felt that he had to do things alone. Those ruddy relatives of his didn't help and I don't think Dumbledore helped either. Harry's never trusted adults. But he's managed to keep himself and Ginny safe for over five years. Alright, so You-know-whatsit was rather out of his body for a while but we all knew he'd be back and there were all those _imperio_-ed fine upstanding wizarding citizens stroke death eaters wandering about. Harry was and still is in danger."

"And now Ginny is too."

Ron shook his head and gave Hermione an 'I can't believe I'm actually saying this' kind of look. "She's not in danger just because of Harry. She's in danger because she's a pureblood witch who doesn't believe in the pureblood doctrine spouted by Malfoy and his hem-kissing cronies. She's a blood traitor in all Death Eater eyes – we all are in this family." His hand sought Hermione's and clung tightly. "It doesn't really matter what our blood status is, Hermione. We're all in danger because we're against V...V…" He stopped, sighed, took a deep breath and rattled out the name so quickly that anyone listening would have had a hard time working out exactly what he'd said. _"Voldemort!"_

"I…know," she whispered as she let her tears fall. Why hadn't Harry trusted them – why hadn't he trusted her? She'd been his true friend and would have done anything to help keep him safe.

They sat in silence in the darkness for some time, savouring the feeling of being alone together until Hermione said softly, "I think Percy's sorry for his actions. I know this is not what you want to hear but I'm sure he's regretting what he did. He's lost his family; he didn't realize what he had until he lost it."

Ron glanced down at the curly head on his shoulder. "No one ever said that Percy was stupid. You're probably right about him being sorry; after all, you're the one who has to work with him on a daily basis. And he's got more than his fair share of Weasley pride. I, however, don't have to forgive him and the twins will forever make his life hell. He deserves it, Hermione."

"Does he?" she wondered. "He thought he was doing the right thing."

"Oh, come on! Marrying Ginny to a Malfoy! That just beggars belief and proves that the git is certifiably insane. She'd kill him and there's no saying what she's done to poor old Harry."

"She loves Harry," said Hermione softly. "She always has. She would do almost anything for him. Like I would for you."

Ron closed his eyes, desperately hanging on to his fraying emotions. His hand fumbled for Hermione's and when he found it, his fingers threaded through hers and gripped it tightly. He didn't say it often – he wasn't a hearts and flowers type of man - but sometimes, just sometimes when they were alone together, he admitted how he felt. "I love you."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**Elgin **

The town centre was quiet in the reluctant light of the early morning. A few stray seagulls feasted on dropped remains of fast food from the night before and several scurrying workers headed for the lighted shops and offices, eager to get out of the cold and into warmth and a source of caffeine. A hint of snow threatened the air but only a few stray flakes had been seen drifting lazily down. They all hoped for a white Christmas but hated the reality when it occurred.

None of the workers, bundled up in thick overcoats, hats, gloves and scarves noticed the man sitting on a bench watching them rush by. A notice-me-not spell combined with a warming charm meant that Alastor Moody was quite comfortable as he assessed the citizens going about their daily lives. So far there'd been no sign of the Boy-who-lived but that meant nothing. There was time yet. If he didn't show up in this place there were other small towns and other early mornings. But he had a hunch about this place and he never passed up a good hunch.

He set his magic eye scanning for magical auras and perhaps someone under an invisibility cloak. Potter had been drained of his magic and, although there were hints that he might have recovered some of his skill, it was unlikely that his presence would register any more strongly than that of an average muggle. Still, he hadn't gained his impressive reputation as one of the Ministry's finest aurors by neglecting to scrutinize the details. As Shacklebolt had said the other night they should learn not to underestimate Potter.

Moody mulled over the facts that he knew for certain. Potter lived in the area, had almost said so without handing Dumbledore the key to his front door. The boy had to know that they were looking for him and that they would find him eventually. His visit to Gringotts had not been helpful. The goblins had been disinclined to share any information but he had learned that Bill and Fleur Weasley were on holiday and wouldn't be back to work until after the New Year. Slippery little sods, those goblins. Young Weasley had known what would happen when he announced the marriage and had rightly removed himself from view, even though it had thrown the wrong ingredient in the Order's cauldron. Bill knew exactly where Harry Potter was and probably had done for some time.

The cleaners gave way to those who worked in the shops and the offices and the place began to come alive as daylight gained a strong grip. Christmas was just over a week away and even though it was a Tuesday morning, the town would get busy very quickly.

"Come on, lad, where are you?" whispered Moody, his magical eye scanning the muggles as they passed. He should have set up magical detectors all over the town but hadn't the resources or the time. Remus had thought that Potter worked in an office of some kind and the Order had investigated the claims that the young man had made about the development training he'd attended that Saturday. Emmeline Vance had found there'd been a banking and financial conference which fit the bill. The town centre had at least four different banks and several building societies in the main street alone. "Muggles," he muttered disdainfully. Gringotts was more than enough bank for wizards.

A group of three young men passed his perch, business suits visible under bulky jackets, their heads covered by woollen hats and that was when he felt the first spike of magical power. Not just magical power – but extraordinary magical power. His false eye swirled rapidly in its socket before training itself firmly upon the tallest of the three. It was hard to tell who was under all that clothing but the magical aura didn't lie and it was strong. The boy had always had the potential to become a strong wizard but Moody could sense that the Potter had really come into his own. Voldemort's curse had failed to rob the young man of his magic.

"Well, well, well," he muttered. Albus would be surprised at the boy's strength. "Living like a muggle right enough but forgetting the most basic of commands that I ever taught to you. Where is the Constant Vigilance, Potter?" He tamped down his instinctual urge to immediately confront the boy. It wasn't yet time. But the question burning to be asked was: how powerful was Potter? He was as aware of the effects of Voldemort's hex as Albus was and the boy seemed to have recovered if his readings were accurate. Of course, he wouldn't be able to totally gauge the true state of Potter's magic until he had him in a duel. There was time for that. First he needed to go and give Albus the glad tidings and then conscript a few of the Order members to come and help pick him up. There was no guarantee that the boy would come willingly.

He stood up, banished his notice-me-not charm and disappeared with a faint pop.

Harry had, against his wife's and newly reunited family's wishes, decided to go into work as normal. He guessed that this was foolishness but part of him liked the daily grind. He enjoyed his job – he wasn't ecstatic about it but it was pleasant and kept him occupied. He didn't want to let down his colleagues this close to Christmas. Yesterday had been a case in point – the bank had been busy. Today he'd decided to take the car into town and had run into a couple of the lads in the car park. They'd almost reached the bank when he heard a faint pop and out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw something or someone vanish. He'd always been able to tell when someone had been watching him. The pop had been faint... almost silent but he'd just seen and heard something that reminded him of the world he'd left.

'_Shit,'_ he swore inwardly as he held the heavy door open for Kevin. Maybe, he hadn't seen anything at all. Yesterday had been a long day and they'd all stayed up later than usual so he was a bit tired. But then part of him - that knowing rational, _wizard_ part of him - knew that he'd heard and seen something that no muggle would have. It had to be one of the Order and his bet was on Moody for his persistence. Talk about coincidence and bad luck. This looked as if it might be his last day at the bank. He'd read up on _obliviation_ and _confundus_ charms and guessed that he might be utilising them in order to fool the bank into thinking that he'd given his notice in a month ago. It was just as well he and Ginny didn't really need the money.

Alastor Moody was almost impossible to fool, Harry thought irritably as he divested himself of his winter clothing and put it in his locker. He respected the crusty old wizard tremendously and Moody had taught him a lot over the years but he considered the auror one of Dumbledore's men. Harry didn't count himself as one of those any more – maybe once long ago when he'd been young and naive but no more.

The Order knew where he was now or they soon would when whoever it was reported in. He was surprised – if it was Moody – that the man hadn't just stunned him, hit him with a body binding spell and immediately transported him to Dumbledore. Statute of Secrecy be damned. He briefly considered the Ministry but decided that Dumbledore wouldn't have broadcast Harry's situation. He'd never been keen on sharing his weapon.

Yes, the wizarding world was definitely calling him home. But Harry would be going on his own terms and not those of Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix or the Ministry of Magic.

Harry straightened his tie and moved to his work station where a small line had already formed. It was going to be another busy day and he welcomed the distraction of the mundane. He smiled at the woman at the head of the queue. "Next!"

He fully expected to see Albus Dumbledore and the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix before the end of his working day. So much for being granted his wish of a quiet Christmas with his wife and child.

Just because they knew where he worked didn't mean that they could do with him what they wanted. He would always want to fight the darker side of the magical world but sometimes, just sometimes, he knew that he'd also have to fight against the light for the right to live his life as he saw fit. Just because they told him what to do didn't mean that he would oblige. Harry Potter was his own man and proud of it.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**Scrimgeour's office – Ministry of Magic**

"Believe me, Dumbledore, I can understand the need for secrecy and protection. But this time your golden boy has gone too far. The Weasley girl was promised to Draco Malfoy five years ago by magical betrothal and now I find she's married to Potter. How could that have happened? Lucius Malfoy will not stand for this. He will insist on Potter being charged and the marriage being dissolved. We do not need the _Chosen One_ placed in…"

"Rufus…"

The Minister for Magic glared across his desk at the Hogwarts headmaster. Albus was a brilliant wizard but had his own agenda and wasn't about to share exactly what that was. This couldn't be allowed to continue. They were at war, for Merlin's sake. The man had to stop obstructing the Ministry and start helping. Once the wizarding population became aware that You-Know-Who had returned for the third time – the news would become very old very quickly – they were going to have a state of mass hysteria on their hands. They needed the Potter boy on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ as soon as possible. "You told me he'd been sent away for training. Five years and he's not been seen once – a little suspicious, Headmaster."

"Rufus…"

"Don't try to hoodwink me, Albus. My name is not Cornelius Fudge and I know exactly what you are capable of. You're a meddling old fool who should have retired years ago. Fetch Potter from wherever you have him stashed. You-Know-Who is _back…"_

"His name is Voldemort, Rufus."

"I know what his name is, Albus," thundered Scrimgeour. "Stop trying to head away from the subject."

"Fear of a name..."

Scrimgeour almost snarled in Dumbledore's face. "I _choose_ not to use it. What I call the dark bastard is not the issue here. Our supposed 'chosen one' – that's what the _Prophet's_ been calling him for years - has disappeared and is not doing the job he was prophesied to do. The Ministry - the wizarding people - need to see their saviour helping the Ministry rid our world of evil."

"No, they do not need to see anything," Dumbledore said calmly but privately he was dismayed at the level of the Minister's knowledge. Harry was a man now and would not be easy to control but even Dumbledore drew the line at what Rufus was proposing.

Scrimgeour leapt to his feet, both hands planted on his desk as he leant across it, his wiry hair almost crackling with suppressed energy. "Where... Is... Potter?"

"Safe," said Dumbledore calmly.

"Don't give me that, Albus," thundered Scrimgeour. He'd known Dumbledore for years and wasn't fooled by the wise man persona. "He has a duty..."

Dumbledore's face darkened in anger. "Harry is not the property of the Ministry. He cannot be owned or used in whatever schemes you have planned."

"But you use him in _your_ plans, Albus. You are the greatest manipulator I've ever met."

"Harry turned you down once before," Dumbledore stated icily. "I believe he will do so again."

"I could have him arrested."

"On what charge?" countered Dumbledore. "You do that and you're not the wizard I thought you were, Rufus. You'll be no better than Cornelius Fudge."

"He went against a magical betrothal and that's only the tip of the niffler's hoarded gold stash as far as his antics at Hogwarts were described to me."

"Percy Weasley?"

"I asked him for his impression of Potter."

"You do know that Percy was behind the betrothal contract, negotiating it without informing the rest of the Weasley family including young Ginevra. He did not want Harry and Ginevra to unite but young love can be a force that none can withstand."

"Albus!"

The headmaster's eyes twinkled. "Rufus, Percy Weasley had his eyes on your job."

"He's an ambitious young wizard," said the Minister dryly, knowing that Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy hadn't exactly been friends and would not normally have considered an alliance between their families. But Ginevra Weasley had been a valuable commodity – young, powerful, beautiful, a pureblood and with strong connections to Potter and Dumbledore.

Scrimgeour had eventually demoted Percy when his continuing support for Fudge had over-ridden his common sense. The strange pact between Percy Weasley and Lucius Malfoy had been brokered because Lucius had a surfeit of wealth, influence and power and Weasley had none but wanted it desperately. "The Malfoys still have influence and money."

"Pity about the affiliation to Voldemort," stated Dumbledore calmly

"Will you stop saying his name, Albus?" Scrimgeour sank back into his chair. "Percy Weasley's was not the only opinion I sought on young Potter."

"I fail to see how this could make a difference. Harry is one of the most genuine and good young wizards I have ever met."

Scrimgeour wasn't listening. He picked up a piece of parchment and swiftly perused its contents. "Potter expressed an interest in joining the auror corps."

"Yes, he did." Dumbledore doubted whether Harry's magic would be strong enough but some sort of activity could be arranged for the Boy-who-lived in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "He did very well in Defence against the Dark Arts at OWL and NEWT levels - outstandings across the board, Rufus."

"Then we can make him an spokesperson for the aurors..." He peered closer at the piece of parchment. "Auror numbers are down and we need a recruitment drive. Potter could do this and begin his official training. _The_ _Daily Prophet_ could run an article. The people would want to see the young man helping his fellow wizards. It would go a long way to helping him get out of the trouble he's currently in. Albus, he broke a magical contract."

Dumbledore held out his hands in a calming fashion. "I have been reviewing the memories in my pensieve of Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley when the contract was served to Ginevra and realised something rather interesting."

"Albus..." Rufus said dismissively. "This is a waste of my time."

"Ah, don't be so hasty. I wouldn't destroy the runespoor before the eggs are hatched. Miss Weasley never formally accepted the contract verbally or by any other means."

"What!"

"She never laid a finger on that parchment and managed to ignore compulsion spells that were undoubtedly present. Contracts drawn up by families such as the Malfoys have strong magic layered within. The only thing that could prevent Miss Weasley from succumbing to the powerful enchantments in a Malfoy betrothal contract would be if she'd already made a binding magical commitment."

Rufus blinked in surprise. "You're saying that she'd already made a commitment to Potter?"

Albus nodded. "It appears so."

"And you're telling me that you had no knowledge of this?" the Minister scoffed sceptically. "I thought that you were omniscient."

"I cannot claim to be all-knowing," said Dumbledore with a smile. "Harry and I had a difficult relationship at the time of Ginevra's betrothal as many parents do with their maturing offspring."

"You consider yourself a parent to Potter?" Scrimgeour's eyes met those of the Hogwarts headmaster in disbelief.

"I have guided Harry from a young age," said Dumbledore calmly.

"But..."

"Our opinions differed on some decisions I had made for his safety," continued the headmaster. "He would not have willingly confided to me at that time something, which to him, was deeply personal. I swear on my life and magic that I had no knowledge of his and Ginevra's re-emerging relationship. They'd been close in the past but the relationship had ended. Harry thought that being with the young lady put her in unnecessary danger. Something must have altered his opinion and I am sure it was the proposed union with Draco Malfoy."

"The Malfoys will protest."

"I would not have expected anything different. They know that Miss Weasley is important to Harry and will try to take her away from him by any means they can."

"But they will fail." Scrimgeour sounded resigned.

"They will fail if they try to do it by legal means. Do not underestimate Ginevra Weasley or perhaps we should refer to her as Ginny Potter. She is the seventh child of Molly and Arthur and the first female to be born into the Weasley family for several generations and, as I have already said, she is a powerful and clever witch." Dumbledore pointed to another piece of parchment in front of the Minister. "Look at it, Rufus. The magic has been completely leached away. There is no binding power in that contract. It has failed. Whereas..." He pulled forward a large dragon-hide bound volume, opened the gilt-tipped pages carefully and pointed to an entry which practically glowed on the page.

Rufus cleared his throat and read aloud, "the marriage of Mister Harry James Potter, head of House Potter and Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley, daughter of the House of Weasley has been announced and approved by Mister William Arthur Weasley, head of House Weasley." He closed the volume and scowled. "Why has this come to light now, Albus? Ginevra Weasley has been missing for over five years. It is most uncanny."

Dumbledore momentarily looked surprised. "Magic has accepted this union, Rufus. It would not appear in this book otherwise."

"Produce Potter," Rufus demanded. "Rumour has it, there is a prophecy concerning him and You-Know-Who..."

"I cannot confirm or deny that."

"No matter. You do not need to, Albus." Slowly, Scrimgeour sat up straight, his eyes widening in dawning horror. "Merlin's bones, Albus! You have no idea where Potter is, do you? He's supposed to be the saviour, our chosen one. He's fought against You-Know-Who more times than anyone else and survived to tell the tale. If he is prophesied to do what I think he is..."

Dumbledore held up his hand to stop the Minister from saying any more. "Rufus..."

"Don't!" snapped Scrimgeour. "I remember the debacle in the Hall of Prophesies. The department of mysteries confirmed the rumour without divulging the contents but Albus, I think any magical citizen could guess what Potter's destiny is. I am not a fool. Do not treat me as one."

"Harry is safe, that much I do know, and we are close to finding his location. No, I will not disclose such sensitive information. It's better that you are not aware of where he is."

"Albus," thundered Scrimgeour. "I am the Minister of Magic..." He began scrabbling in his desk drawer for a quill and blank parchment. "Bill Weasley..." he muttered, signing his name with a dramatic flourish. "He knows...bring him in for questioning..."

"I cannot do that, Rufus," stated Dumbledore. "Bill Weasley has taken some of his annual leave. Bill, his wife Fleur and Molly have gone away for a few days – where exactly I do not know."

"I suppose," observed Scrimgeour coolly, having calmed down a little, "that Percy Weasley and the little muggleborn, Granger, also have no idea?"

"That would be correct, Rufus."

The Minister sighed. "Albus, Potter has a job to do. You know it and I know it. See that he does it or there's no hope for the world that we love. Voldemort...yes I've said it. Voldemort is on the rise once more and we are going to find it almost impossible to halt that rise."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Albus left the Minister's office with much to think on. It was becoming more difficult to hide the breach between himself and Harry. If he only knew where the boy had hidden himself. Harry had gone muggle - that was quite apparent - and he certainly possessed the knowledge to do so. But he couldn't have done so on his own. Someone had helped him and the headmaster was starting to have his suspicions as to whom. It was unexpected and yet not considering the boy's wealth.

"Albus!" Alastor Moody swiftly limped his way through the Ministry atrium to the headmaster's side. "I was told that you were in a meeting with the Minister."

"I was, Alastor. Rufus can't be relied on to do what's best for Harry and..."

"We have him, Albus," the old auror interrupted eagerly. "I spotted him this morning heading into a muggle bank. He's working there. We can go and pick him up and Albus, whatever doubts you had about his magic? Forget them. I scanned his aura and he's as powerful as he ever was – if not more."

"Interesting." He trusted Moody's investigative skills. But inside he was wondering how Harry had managed to fully recover from one of the most insidious curses in the arsenal of wizarding spells. Albus clenched his fist and a small fluttering piece of paper hovered in front of him. "To Miss Hermione Granger, please. Her aid would be most beneficial in this instance."

"I've contacted some of the old crowd. Couldn't seem to get hold of Lupin and Tonks is on shift."

"Whoever is available should be enough," murmured Albus. "Harry may be anticipating our arrival but he will have no idea exactly when. Let's go."

With a faint pop, the wizards disappeared from view.

36


	34. Chapter 34

**The Unbreakable Vow 34**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.** **I know I do not update as swiftly as everyone would like but life and work and everything that goes with it just slows me down. Thanks again for your patience.**

Harry pressed the button which illuminated the flashing number above his work station signalling his availability and a breathless, package-laden old lady shuffled forward.

"Gary...I'd like to transfer some funds. Christmas shopping and all that."

"Of course, Mrs. Duff." He gave her a sympathetic smile. She was one of the bank's more regular customers. "I can see you've been busy already this afternoon."

The lady chuckled. "Ten grandchildren - all still believing in Santa Claus. Have you done your Christmas shopping yet?"

Harry laughed. "No. I usually do mine at about 4pm on Christmas Eve."

"You don't?" she said, with a gasp of laughter. "Surely not?"

"Alas, I do, but my wife usually loves what I get her," he confided. "She deals with the rest and we share the cooking. I can't let it be said that I'm not a 'new man'. I can peel the potatoes with the best of them. We share most things but I still get the potatoes." He completed the transaction with a cheeky grin on his face and waited for his next customer. The smile dropped from his face almost the moment Mrs. Duff had gathered together her plethora of packages and headed for the darkening outdoors. It grew dark very early this time of year.

He couldn't miss it, that bushy head of chestnut curls that had joined the queue three or four minutes ago. Harry smiled mirthlessly to himself. Of course, the old man would send Hermione Granger in to do his dirty work for him. She was the only current member in the Order of the bloody Phoenix that had a chance of making it in the muggle world. There were squibs and half-bloods in the Order but Hermione was the only one who had maintained an even balance between the world of her parents and where she was choosing to live her life. That and the only one who had been a close friend to Harry Potter.

He surreptitiously watched her as the queue moved forwards and heard her quickly stifled gasp of shock when it finally dawned on her that the young, suited muggle serving the man in front of her really was Harry. Unluckily for Hermione, she was sent to Kevin at the furthest point from Harry's workstation and he stifled his smile as he saw her aim a dark look in his direction as if it were up to him who came next in the queue.

Hermione could have stamped her smart dragon-hide shod foot in frustration. Alastor Moody was convinced that Harry Potter worked in this bank and so Dumbledore had sent her to check things out and make first contact if it were true. At first she'd thought it was a snorkack hunt – a waste of time - but then one of the bank staff had laughed loudly. It had been Harry's laugh – rarely heard in the last year of his presence in the wizarding world but unmistakeable. She'd scanned the desks ahead and there he was. It _had_ to be Harry – it just _had _to be.

He'd seen her, she was certain, but he'd completely ignored her desperate glance and continued to serve customers as if he'd been doing it for years. Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world, was married and working as a teller in a muggle bank. What would the _Daily Prophet_ make of that tit-bit of information? An article appeared now and again but the wizarding paper had largely ignored Harry's disappearance. The story was that he was training to fight enemies of the magical world and with You-know-who being gone the wizarding world had had no need to call upon the Boy-who-lived-to-pull-their-arses-out-of-trouble. Unfortunately, with You-know-who being back the wizarding world would again clamour for Harry to do his duty and rid them of the monster once more.

But to Hermione, Harry _did_ look as if he'd been working in the bank for years. If you didn't know who and what he was, you wouldn't think that the young man working so diligently in front of her was anything special. His hair, tamed into submission with what she assumed to be muggle hair gel, looked as if it was several shades lighter in colour and he wasn't wearing his famous round spectacles. She wasn't close enough to see his bright green eyes but she knew that their colour would be just as vibrant. He looked healthy although painfully thin. She didn't think Harry could ever gain a lot of weight. The changes he'd made to his appearance had been subtle but he'd passed unnoticed for five years. Maybe, he could even have done it in the wizarding world – wizards could be remarkably obtuse over many things that should be more obvious. They'd all been fooled by him. Harry wasn't the naive and brash young Gryffindor that he'd once been.

His plans to leave the wizarding world had been executed with patience and cunning. There had been something almost calculatingly Slytherin about the whole operation. But Harry _could_ be cunning and he'd obviously been desperate enough to run. He wasn't going to be happy that the Order of the Phoenix was waiting outside ready to _Obliviate_ the muggles he worked with and cart him back to the wizarding world like a naughty schoolboy. There was a good chance that he wouldn't make it easy for them and that would draw attention that neither Harry nor the Order would want. No, it wasn't going to be a straightforward affair.

Moody had intimated that he thought Harry's magic wasn't as feeble as they had thought. Dumbledore wasn't entirely convinced but Harry had ways of surprising everyone with his capabilities. He could think swiftly on his feet when cornered. On this occasion, Hermione decided that she would believe Moody rather than the headmaster. 'Constant vigilance' seemed to be a sensible idea.

Hermione finished cashing her cheque and had no choice but to leave the bank. She walked slowly towards the exit realising she'd no time to... She paused and actually considered that she might warn Harry what was awaiting him. Or would that just be stupid and set her against Albus? The bank closed at five and then the Order would pounce on him no matter what she said or did. After five years on the run, Harry was caught at last.

Was Dumbledore doing the right thing? Was she? Harry had had five years away from the wizarding world and hadn't appeared to want to return. Hermione considered the problem. If she had been stripped of her magic, the very thing that made her so special, she couldn't have borne being with others who still had what she had lost. Harry wouldn't return to the wizarding world without his magic and she didn't blame him for that.

The young witch frowned, her agile mind assessing the situation. She wanted to prove to Harry that she was still his friend and would support him now no matter what the headmaster wanted. Her faith in Dumbledore had taken a severe dent. Perhaps, if he had seen her then he'd be warned in any case. He didn't appear to be panicking in any way or making an attempt to evade capture. Maybe he hadn't seen her after all.

_XXXXX_

Harry noted that Hermione had finished her business and was walking slowly towards the exit. It was doubtful that she'd be alone once she left. This was, perhaps, his chance to test her loyalty to Dumbledore. "Marjorie," he called, "after I see this next customer, I'm away for my break."

A middle-aged woman on the business accounts desk shook her head. "You should have gone an hour ago, Gary."

"We were really busy then, so what could I do?"

"You could take your break when you're supposed to," the woman said with fond exasperation.

"The queue would have been out the door and half way down the High Street," he retorted. "And then you would really have been complaining."

Hermione turned to take one last look at her friend and found that he'd left his post. She quickly swept her eyes round the room. He was standing at the entrance to one of the small meeting rooms looking directly at her.

"Miss Granger?" Harry held out his hand to shake formally, as if she was a stranger. "Gary Peters," he murmured quietly.

Hermione paused, her mouth tightening. "Mr. ..._Peters_," she said, her eyes focusing on the identity tag around his neck.

He indicated the open office door with a wave of his hand. "If you could step into the meeting room for a few minutes I'm sure I can deal with your mortgage concerns."

Hermione drew herself upwards and walked carefully into the room. The door closed behind her with a dull click.

Harry seated himself behind the desk and waved his hand towards a semi-comfortable chair opposite him. "Hello, Hermione."

Hermione sank into the seat, her mouth opening and closing without emitting a sound as she finally faced him after five years. His eyes were _brown...brown of all things_. He looked more like the pictures of his father than he ever had and that was saying something. Harry Potter's eyes were famous and always made you look at them twice. She'd never seen eyes as vivid as Harry's anywhere else and he'd deliberately changed them. It was James Potter reincarnated but as she looked closer there were definite traces of Lily Evans. She'd seen enough photographs of Harry's parents over the years to be able to see the resemblance.

Harry chuckled. "It's not a surprise. I was expecting to see you."

"Me?"

"You're the muggleborn," he said with a shrug of impeccable, grey-suited shoulders. "Who else would the old man send? Plus, he's hoping that you'll appeal to my better nature. I sometimes took your advice in the past. Sometimes I wish I had and other times..." He grinned. "I dragged you with me."

Hermione stiffened and prepared to give him the telling off of his life. "Harry Potter..."

"Ah ah ah!" Harry said, waggling his finger. "Not in this town. In the muggle world there is no Harry Potter. Here, I'm Gary Peters. Close enough to the real thing for a mistake to be passed away as a slip of the tongue. People see and hear what they want to."

Her eyes flashed with anger. "What were you thinking?" she hissed. "Running away like that _and_ marrying Ginny. You've broken a magical contract, Harry. You are going to be in so much trouble."

Harry shrugged.

Hermione looked pained. "We've been looking for you for five years."

"A waste of your time and resources, in my opinion. I covered my tracks well and had no magic for anyone to follow." Harry's smile was not pleasant. "What was I thinking?" he echoed. "I'll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking of keeping myself alive and independent. I was thinking that no one had the right to sell my wife into a form of slavery without her consent. I was thinking that I didn't want to be used and manipulated any longer. I was thinking that I couldn't depend on anyone but myself. I was thinking that Voldemort wasn't going to come back for a few months, maybe even a year or longer if I was lucky."

"You know that he's back?" she asked.

"Of course I do," he said. "Who found Snape?" He raised his eyebrows and gestured to his own arm. "I recognised Voldemort's handiwork. Snape would have died if I hadn't sent him to Hogwarts. Surely Dumbledore didn't keep that piece of information from the Order?"

"We were _worried_ about you, Harry. Can't you see that? Dumbledore and the Order..." she began.

"Can wait." He snapped, his anger and bitterness apparent. "I've lived and worked in the area for four years and I'm not planning on moving. Ginny and I are legally married and the Malfoys, the Wizengamot and even Albus Dumbledore himself, cannot break us apart. I am not going back to being locked up in Grimmauld Place like a criminal."

"But your magic..."

"Is fine – better than fine."

Her wand slipped into her hand at the speed of light. "_Stupefy!"_

"_Protego!"_ Harry's wand appeared in his hand even more quickly than Hermione's had in hers. The shield formed instantly. "_Expelliarmus!" _Hermione's wand landed safely in Harry's hand. _"_That was a really stupid idea, Hermione. How were you going to remove me from the building? I can't see you countenancing an _Imperio? _It doesn't work on me, remember? I won't be dragged back quietly. I'll fight and the Ministry will have to spend quite a bit of time _obliviating_ muggles in this particular town for the second time in a matter of days. I don't think Dumbledore will want me as a guest of the Ministry no matter who's in charge."

Hermione's anger fled and she blinked to keep the tears from her eyes. He'd reacted so quickly and she couldn't see any weakness to his magic but a couple of spells didn't provide a true example of either strength or stamina.

"Look," Harry said quietly. "Don't shoot the messenger, right? I'm sorry that I'm taking my anger out on you but you're the Order's messenger – you're in my line of fire. Try to understand - I had to do what I did and I would do it again." He held out her wand. "Here, I don't want this but don't use it against me. You can't do things for my own good, Hermione. I'm not a child. How can I trust you if you don't work with me...don't trust me? You often think you know what's best for all of us and, Hermione, you don't. You can't."

"But Dumbledore just wanted to protect you."

"Did he?"

"Of course," Hermione cried. "That's all he ever wanted."

"Hmm." Harry murmured, a cynical look on his face. "Are you sure? And I_'_m supposed to be the only one able to defeat Voldemort."

"Dumbledore cares for you," Hermione protested but inside she felt sick. Harry really thought that the headmaster only saw him as some type of weapon?

"He can't _protect me_ forever, Hermione," Harry sneered. "He doesn't have the right – he's not a parent or a guardian. And what he wanted to do was insane. Dumping me back at my aunt's, when I left there at the age of seventeen, wasn't fair to either of us. Petunia and I reached an understanding when I left. I wouldn't see her again unless she asked for me and I knew she'd never do that. I had not heard a single word from the Dursley's after I left Privet Drive. They hated me, Hermione. When does protection become a prison? How would Dumbledore have got me to stay there? Compulsion spells, an _obliviate,_ or perhaps a well placed _imperio_?"

Hermione looked horrified. "But your magic..."

"Had gone. Argus Filch was more magical than I was back then. I couldn't even perform the simplest of spells. I couldn't live in the magical world. The old man was right about that. However, I wanted to make my own choice and he would have taken that away from me. I couldn't let that happen. Yes, I would have listened to his advice but he never listened to what _I_ wanted. Luckily I had plans and was able to implement them."

Hermione's trembling fingers moved to her lips. "Oh, Harry. I'm sorry."

"I didn't abandon the wizarding world, Hermione," Harry said urgently. "I'm coming back. I have a prophecy to fulfil and I'll do it because the snake-faced bastard believes that I'm his main threat. Riddle will not leave me alone. I've started training again and I think I'm as strong magically as I ever was. Tell Dumbledore what I've said and that I'll make a point to meet with him after Christmas."

"I'll try though he may not listen."

Harry waved his hand dismissively. "He'd better if he wants me to cooperate. He needs me, Hermione, but he owes me the time with my family."

Hermione's face brightened at the mention of 'family'. "How is Ginny?" she asked hesitantly.

"Is well." He smiled at the thought of his fiery wife. "I'm not sure how I would have managed without her. No, I wouldn't have."

"What about Bill and Fleur?" Hermione's gaze was fierce. "You shouldn't have got them involved. Dumbledore wasn't very happy that they'd been helping you without telling him. It could get them into so much trouble with the Ministry."

"They're with Molly at the house. I didn't want to risk their safety but they offered to help and I only met up with them when I knew that _Voldemort_ had returned. That was just after Halloween and until then they knew as much as you did - which was nothing. They want to keep Ginny and me safe. We've not broken any laws." Harry stood up, reached out and pressed Hermione's shoulder. "I wanted to tell you where I was but..."

She shook him away. "But it wasn't safe and you couldn't trust us."

Harry's face showed the pain he felt. He knew he'd been hurting Hermione and Ron but he'd felt such anger at the world around him – at those he'd thought he should have been able to trust and rely on. "I couldn't even trust myself," he finally admitted – as much to himself as it was to Hermione. "I was in a very dark place and I didn't know what would happen to me. It wasn't your fault or mine. I blame _Voldemort_ and Dumbledore. It's irrational but that's how I felt. The fewer people that knew where Ginny and I had gone, the better. It kept us _all_ safe. The thing is...if Ginny hadn't been targeted by the Malfoys I would have gone alone but do you know something?

Hermione quirked an eyebrow in response.

"I'm glad she came with me," Harry continued. "Ron... is he...?"

Hermione sighed. "He's Ron," she said. "Can be idiotically stupid and in the blink of an eye can be the most sane and mature of all of us. He's waiting for you to come back. We both are – we _all_ are."

Harry's mouth twisted with a slight edge of cynicism. "Of course you are. _Voldemort _is still out there and the prophecy still exists. What does Ron think?"

Hermione glared at him, her quick mind catching his meaning. "We don't want you just because of V..._Voldemort,_" she snapped. "Ron understands why you did what you did. He was angry and h...hurt but he got over it. He's waiting until you and Ginny come back to us because you'll need our help." She pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed quickly at suddenly brimming brown eyes.

"Glad to see Ron's finally grown up."

"At least _he_ has," said Hermione tartly, her tears vanishing. "I'm not so sure about you. It's about time you..."

"Same old Hermione," interrupted Harry, a hint of a bittersweet smile crossing his lips. "You're not my mother. Ron may like that about you but it can get wearing."

Her lips tightened. "So I'm really hearing it now, Harry - what you really thought of me."

"I loved you – you were the sister I never had. I still love you. But I'm not blind to your faults or your strengths. Merlin knows I'm not perfect, Hermione, and I never will be. I tend to act before I think more times than I should. I never had a proper childhood and you know it," Harry declared, his brown eyes fierce. "Dumbledore saw to that when he left me at the bloody Dursleys. I have an issue with trusting others – especially those in authority. I've been let down too many times before by people who were supposed to be there for me. If I'd stayed in the magical world I would have either been imprisoned by those who were supposed to be on my side or be sent out as the Ministry's performing monkey. I never wanted the title of the Boy-who-lived. I would rather have been Harry-the-boy-with-loving parents. But it's water under the proverbial bridge. Life moves on and it was time to stop whining and deal with it. I left the wizarding world, joined the muggle one and went to college." He gave her a lop-sided grin. "I even did some of the banking exams to go up a pay grade. Maybe I grew up more than you think."

Hermione steeled her heart not to react that smile. It was uniquely the friend that she'd known since meeting him on the Hogwarts Express. "I'm glad you've finally paid some attention to your education, Harry," she muttered prissily, even though she knew that he didn't really need to work. "I'll tell Albus but I don't think he'll be pleased."

"Tough."

"He only wants you safe. Please, Harry..."

"I am safe," he reiterated.

"How can you be safe?"

"I am still alive _five_ years after leaving my Grimmauld Place prison and managing to live my life as an independent adult without magic. Back then, Voldie may have gone but his minions were still around and the Order couldn't find me, either. Though if you need an explanation for the last couple of months, try blood wards and a Fidelius charm. Is that safe enough?" Harry stood up and moved to the door. "Now I really must go for my break. I have a meeting with a large mug of tea and perhaps if I'm lucky a chocolate biscuit. If Albus wants me, he has to fight me as I'm not going willingly. I'm not leaving my wife alone to worry about me." He smirked. "She'll kill me when she gets her hands on me and I'm more frightened by her _Bat-bogey_ hex than anything Dumbledore can do to me. Tell him that I'll make an appointment with him after the New Year."

"Harry..."

"I find myself, strangely enough, sympathising with my Aunt Petunia. I like my normal life and I want it to continue, albeit a magical normal life and not a muggle one. I'll be in touch," he promised, his manner softening. "Soon. Tell Ron..."

Hermione swallowed nervously. She had to warn him. "Harry!" The words stumbled over each other as she continued, "They're waiting for you."

"What?"

"I didn't come alone. They're waiting for you. Dumbledore...and some of the Order are here too. As soon as you leave this building they'll grab you and take you back to Grimmauld Place."

Harry processed what she'd said and shrugged with apparent unconcern. "I know."

"What!"

"Come on, Hermione. Did you really think they'd let you come alone? Of course not." The sneer wasn't as good as that of Snape in his prime but he thought that it wasn't too bad an attempt.

"Oh! I never considered that," she said, sounding a little lost.

"Dumbledore has lost sight of things. He can't see that I'm safe and have been for over five years. You said it yourself. You couldn't find me..."

"But now we have," Hermione insisted. "The Order..."

Harry frowned. "Who is there? Remus?"

"No."

"Tonks?"

"She's on duty at the Ministry. Dumbledore is here with Hestia and Moody... It's supposed to be a quiet operation so your whereabouts can remain top secret."

Harry's disguised eyes bored into Hermione's. "Why are you telling me this?"

"So that you would know. I want to earn your trust back, Harry. I wasn't the best friend to you that I should have been. I lost sight of what was important and got seduced by the concept of the 'greater good'."

Harry managed to keep a shocked expression from crossing his face. Hermione had almost criticised Albus Dumbledore. "Sorry..."

"Ron and I talked about it and we're both sorry. I could never understand what you've gone through but I thought that I could. We'd do anything to make it up to you, Harry."

"Anything?" he drawled suspiciously.

"Anything. I'm telling you this to show that I mean what I say. It's a trap," she confessed wearily. "I was supposed to draw you out into the open and the others would..."

"Apprehend me for the greater good," finished Harry.

"Something like that."

"It wouldn't have happened," said Harry.

"I can be quite persuasive," argued Hermione. "And I have a wand."

"Maybe, but I'm far too cautious and always prepared..."

That was something new about her friend. Harry used to react on instinct. "You can't be prepared for everything," argued Hermione.

"And you would know," retorted Harry. "Books can only tell you so much. There's nothing wrong with my magic now, remember, and I knew you were coming. Not exactly when, but I knew that you would come." There was a new light in his eyes that was unfamiliar to her. "I've too much to lose."

"You never did trust easily," observed Hermione.

"No, and I never will. I'd never leave Ginny like that. We're married and intend to stay married. According to the Bill and the Gringotts goblins, the marriage of Ginny and me has been truly accepted by magic."

Hermione's mouth opened and closed again. It would explain the fading of the Malfoy marriage contract. The magic wasn't accepted and it faded away.

"That doesn't mean to say that the Ministry or the Malfoys will agree," Harry added.

Hermione looked worried. "No, probably not."

"Tough," he returned arrogantly. "I'd trust the goblins before Malfoy and the Ministry any day. They may not be the sunniest of races but once they strike a bargain, they stick to it...mostly. Ginny will not let me return to the wizarding world without her approval." He grinned. "She can be very determined when she wants to be."

"You said it earlier - the bat bogey?"

"Worse than that. Try sleeping on the _couch_ suffering with a bat bogey hex. I married a smart and powerful witch."

"But you shouldn't have married her, Harry."

"Of course I should have. We made each other a promise – a vow if you like - before the ferret made his claim. I think magic saw that almost like an unbreakable vow. If magic hadn't approved I don't think we would have been able to marry or physically unite." He gave his usual shrug. "It's what I think. She never accepted that contract in any way. How could she? She was already mine."

They stood and looked at one another for a moment without saying anything. The friendship wasn't what it was and only time would see if it could return to what it had once been but a fragile truce seemed to have been offered and accepted.

Hermione spread open her hands helplessly. "I can't help you any more than I've just done...not right now."

"You've done enough, Hermione," he murmured. "Ginny and I thank you."

Hermione's eyes brightened. "Would you tell Ginny that Ron and I love her and miss her?"

"I'm sure she knows that already. Ginny didn't want to leave her family," he explained sadly, "_I_ didn't want her to leave her family. But to stay and marry Malfoy would probably have been the death of her. I couldn't let it happen. Hermione..." Harry said, "I...I loved her. I still love her and always will."

And that was it. There was no argument Hermione could, in all fairness, put forward after that. Harry loved Ginny and the bushy-haired witch knew that the love was reciprocated and had been for as long as Ginny had known who Harry was. The difference between the youngest Weasley and anyone else was that Ginny loved Harry for himself.

"Give me your phone number," he said suddenly. "I'll contact you."

"You will? But magic and muggle devices don't mix."

Harry nodded. "I live in a muggle house, in a muggle area. I have a telephone. For the moment everything works." He sighed. "I get the feeling I won't be remaining in this job for much longer. This will probably be my last day."

Hermione's mouth trembled as she dug in her pocket and produced a pen and a small piece of card. Quickly, she scribbled her number on it, leaving it on the desk. "Thank you and Merry Christmas."

They looked at one another for another moment before Hermione opened the door and hurried out of the room. Harry's gaze followed her until she passed through the automatic doors. He didn't want to see if she met up with Dumbledore. He was gasping for that mug of tea and he needed to phone his wife. She'd warned him that this might happen and he could do with her final thoughts on what he should do if their plans didn't quite work. Ginny often pointed out that she was the brains in their relationship and Harry had to agree. He reached for the phone and swiftly dialled the number.

"Ginny-love..."

xxxxxxxx

Hermione exited the bank and walked across the street to one of the small cafes where tinsel and sparkling lights festooned the steamed-up windows. Searching through the seated, chattering patrons she spotted the headmaster, looking slightly incongruous in brightly coloured muggle clothing. Moody, who was with him, hadn't made the effort to blend in with the muggles and Hermione decided that a notice-me-not charm had to have been employed at some point.

Dumbledore turned his head and watched the young witch thread her way through the cramped and busy tables. Her face was pale and her expression solemn as she reached them.

"Professor Dumbledore...Albus," she corrected herself. "I...I..."

"Did you see him, Hermione?" asked the old man quietly. "He is...here?"

"Y...Yes," she said. "He works in the bank."

Moody snorted. "I told you that he was here. Let's go and pick him up."

Dumbledore gave a great sigh of relief, his eyes closing for a moment. "I hoped that we had found him at long last. It eases my heart to know that he is safe and well."

"He knows what you want to do," Hermione clasped her hands together tightly. "I told him you were here."

Dumbledore's smile was wry. "I think I expected that, Hermione. Harry is your friend, after all."

"He was waiting for me," she said. "I told him and then he replied that 'he knew' I hadn't come alone." She fixed her gaze on Dumbledore's. "He gave me a message for you."

"Message!" Moody snorted again. "The boy is entertaining; I have to give him that."

Hermione twisted her clasped hands nervously. "He's not coming with us – he refused."

There was an odd silence around the table. Moody began to sputter like a kettle ready to boil. "_Refused!_" he began.

Hermione sent him a quelling look. "He wasn't surprised to see me and guessed that I hadn't come alone and he's right. He wants to spend Christmas with his family."

"Miss Weasley," said Dumbledore sagely.

"Mrs. Potter," disagreed Hermione. "She is his wife. Magic accepted their union..."

"A strange thing to say, Miss Granger." Dumbledore didn't mention that he, himself, had used exactly the same phrase when speaking to Rufus Scrimgeour.

"It wasn't me that did. Harry said it. But it makes sense..."

"Hermione," murmured Dumbledore gently.

The young witch flushed. "Oh, I'm sorry...yes. Harry also said that if you want to take him today you would have to fight him. He's not coming willingly."

"We won't need to do any of that," said Moody. "We outnumber him. Even if he does have the magical power I sensed, he cannot have been using his magic regularly and certainly not in defence."

Hestia Jones pulled out a muggle style notebook and pen and began making notes. "The boy can't be strong enough to attempt to take on all of us. Not if that curse did what it is reputed to do. The last documented case never recovered a fraction of the power they'd lost – and that was after twenty years. Potter's been away for what...five?"

"Harry put up a shield with ease," said Hermione. "It was as if he was daring me to send a stunner at him."

Dumbledore sat up. "He blocked your spell?"

"Easily," she said. "And then he took my wand..._Expelliarmus._ You see..." Hermione held up her hand before anyone jumped to the wrong conclusion. "No! Everything was fine – I'm fine. Harry returned it to me immediately. I couldn't see any weakness in his spellcasting but then, it wasn't sustained over a long period of time like a real duel would be."

"Interesting," mused Dumbledore. "But I'm not sure that we can take Harry's word for things. We would need to get Poppy to look him over. She's been looking at learning how to deal with the after-effects of dark magic. Severus has needed her care on many occasions."

"Harry won't come with us and leave Ginny on her own," offered Hermione thoughtfully. "Though, from what he said, I'm pretty sure Molly is with them now."

"Undoubtedly," agreed the headmaster, wondering if Miss Weasley could be prevailed upon to make Harry see sense. "As are Bill and Fleur."

"Do you think that they knew about this from the start?" asked Hermione, hoping from the depths of her heart that Bill hadn't done that to his family. "Harry said that they didn't but he could be protecting them."

Moody shook his head, his eye spinning wildly. "No, I don't think that Bill was aware of what was going on." He waved his fist in the air. "Constant vigilance and the fewer people that know something, the better the secret will be kept. Don't let that red hair and genial attitude distract you. Bill Weasley's a talented wizard and he's not the only one in the family. Arthur and Molly produced strong, magical children. Bill would have done everything in his power to keep Potter and his sister from harm. I would even go so far as to say that he's only known for a few weeks now that I look back on his behaviour."

Dumbledore dug into the depth of a pocket in his robes and produced an antiquated-looking pocket watch. "We must be going," he said. "The bank should be closing soon. We do not want to miss Harry when we have searched for him for so long."

Glancing around, Hermione could see that the cafe had emptied and darkness had descended fast. But she could see the bright festive lights sparkling happily in every shop window. This would not end well if they didn't begin to treat Harry like the twenty-three year old man he was.

"Albus, I don't think we should..." she began.

"It will be fine, Miss Granger. Do not worry."

A waitress stood hesitantly before them. "I'm sorry but we're closing..."

Dumbledore got to his feet and gave her a warm smile. "Of course." He nodded to the group. "Come, we must depart and let this young lady do what she must."

"The bank closes at a quarter to five, Albus," declared Moody as they made their way out into the street. "The staff are usually out by five. Make certain that all the exits are covered and wait for him to make his escape."

"He will fight us, Albus," Hermione warned. "You know that Harry will not give up what he considers to be his freedom. I only told you part of what he said. Listen to the whole of the message he gave..."

The headmaster paused. "Tell me then, Miss Granger."

Hermione sighed. "He wants to spend Christmas with his family and then will contact us as soon as things are back to normal - whatever 'normal' means. I suppose, that would be after the holidays are over. He said that he would make an appointment to meet with you."

"He did?" The expression on Dumbledore's face was inscrutable. Whatever he was thinking, his face gave none of it away.

"Don't you trust his word?"

"I don't know that I do, Miss Granger."

"Perhaps he cannot trust yours," she said quietly.

"That is something that was lost a long time ago," he answered gravely. "Trust, once gone is very difficult to regain. I made mistakes with regard to my dealings with Harry. He may forgive but he will not forget. But by the sound of it, I am not yet forgiven."

"So, will you allow him...?"

Dumbledore's face showed his regret. "I cannot risk his safety – it is too dangerous. We don't know how powerful his magic actually is. Once Harry is safe then we can protect Miss Weasley."

"Mrs. Potter," Hermione said, correcting him again. "She is now his wife. Those mistakes you spoke of making... you are adding to them. Harry will not allow you to treat Ginny as an afterthought."

Dumbledore sighed, his face weary. "I will do what I have to do. Harry must be kept safe."

"Then you will lose him." She took a deep breath, her decision made. Ron would agree, she knew that. He might not like what she was doing but he _would_ agree. She recalled the almost suicidal decision in stunning Snape in the Shrieking Shack to help Sirius back in their third year. It had been the right thing to do. Ron would follow Harry like he always had done. "And I will not help you drag him home in a body-bind like a criminal. I cannot agree."

The Order members all turned to stare at Hermione in something resembling a mixture of awe and horror. "I'm sorry. I...I... just can't. Harry and Ginny are my friends and this is just...wrong." She tilted her nose in the air and left them standing in front of the cafe. Their last sight of her was when she ducked into a nearby alley. A soft crack indicated her apparition.

Dumbledore sighed. "I should have expected that. If she hadn't spoken to Harry, then she would have apprehended him with the rest of us. Hermione has a strong sense of right and wrong and she has been convinced that we are wrong. Harry has a charisma that could rival Voldemort's."

"Aye," agreed Moody. "The lad has got something. At least we know that he's still on our side. Best we get him before he persuades anyone else." He glanced at Hestia, who sniffed disapprovingly.

While the town centre was dominated by the Victorian architecture of the St. Giles Parish church, the actual shape of the streets and little lanes that ran away from the centre were much older. The bank was located in one of the sandstone buildings across from the church. The Order members separated and crossed the street, Hestia and Dumbledore moving up the lane at the side of the building. As far as Hestia could see, there weren't any other official looking exits

"There's only a single fire escape in the alleyway, Albus," said Hestia. "I would assume there is another on the other side. Moody's currently watching the front entrance. I suspect the staff will exit the same way the rest of the muggles do via the main front entrance onto the High Street." She examined a metal door marked 'fire exit'. "No, nobody's going in and out of the building from this particular door."

Dumbledore nodded. "And so we wait."

Hestia nodded. "Does Moody know where Harry is going when he leaves the premises?"

"I would suspect to find some form of muggle transport," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "We have no idea where he stays but there is a bus station close by and several places for cars to be left until their owners decided to collect them."

"How ingenious."

"Muggles have to be, my dear." They wandered a little further up the narrow lane, past a sandwich shop, a clothing store and a dim, dusty little shop that had Dumbledore stopping in complete surprise. "Well, I never!" he explained in astonished pleasure. "Leonora Babble!"

"Leonora what?" Hestia peered up at the fading sign. "Babble's Books?"

"Leonora Babble was a contemporary of mine at Hogwart's. A Ravenclaw, I believe. Liked to read books. I have to say that I never realised that she was from these parts."

"Is she still alive?"

"Goodness, no. Unfortunately, the magic passed from the family a couple of generations ago. I never knew her well and we lost touch with the family when the magic went dormant. Her great, great, great granddaughter was unfortunately a squib. She had enough magic in her to work as a sort of healer. It didn't please her mother - a difficult witch, I was told."

"It's closed and it looks empty." Hestia strained to see through the windows but it was far too dark.

"Yes, it looks as if it is but I can sense that there is still magic in the building. Magic lingers long after we wizards and witches move on to the next big adventure. I wonder if this is what drew Harry here – this lingering magical aura?" He pulled out his large gold pocket watch again and checked the stars and moons rotating around the edge. "We'd better retrace our steps and join the others. It is getting close to five."

A few moments later there was a rumble from inside the deserted shop and a quiet voice whispered "_Alohamora_!" Ginny Weasley, her fingers closed around the reassuring feel of the spare car key in her pocket, slipped through the door and without realising the danger she'd narrowly missed headed in the opposite direction to the one taken by Hestia and Albus.

South Street ran parallel to the High Street and could be reached by following any one of the narrow lanes leading off the town centre. Harry had left his car in the car park behind the Masonic lodge building. It had the advantage of not snarling you up in town centre traffic which meant a quicker trip home. The town was quieting down as people headed home for the evening. Harry was hoping that there were still enough people wandering around to make it difficult for Dumbledore and his companions to act. Ginny would have the car waiting, ready to move quickly before the wizards caught on to their plans.

He didn't think that the old man would have brought the aurors with him. Harry was betting on the fact that Dumbledore still wanted to keep him away from the Ministry as much as the Death Eaters.

Harry smiled at Kevin and Marjorie as they stood waiting for the manager to set the security alarms.

"Where are you parked?" asked Kevin.

"Off South Street," Harry murmured, his eyes tracking anyone loitering outside the bank. "What about you?"

"Multi-storey," answered Marjorie.

"That's where I am," chipped in Kevin.

Harry felt a prickling at the back of his neck, as if someone was watching him. He'd had that feeling before. His magic sense was warning him. The Order couldn't do anything right now, he reasoned. The streets were quiet but not deserted.

"Right," he muttered. "I'm going to have to run."

"Okay, Gary. We'll see you tomorrow. Last one before the holidays. I can hardly wait."

Harry nodded, all the while thinking, 'actually you won't see me tomorrow. I can't come back to work here ever again'. The goblin obliviators would move in and do the spellcasting quickly, quietly and for a reasonable fee without anyone from the wizarding world knowing that anything out of the ordinary had happened. As they stood and chatted, Harry could see, out of the corner of his eye, a figure limp out of the shadow of the church and another standing motionless beside the war memorial. With a small grimace he admitted to himself that his last thought was wrong. Certain people from the wizarding world would start to piece together the clues. Harry hoped the goblins could stand up to Dumbledore.

He made a show of looking at his watch. "I'm _really_ going to have to run."

Kevin slapped him genially on the shoulder. "Jenny has you on a tight leash."

"You'd better believe it." Harry had subtly manoeuvred his colleagues into the shadowed opening of the lane, hoping it might give him a couple of seconds start. His wand slid from his wrist holster into his hand without Kevin or Marjorie noticing. This was risky but Dumbledore and Moody were too close for Harry to just walk away. He needed something to delay them for an instant. That was all – just a split second could make all the difference.

"_Confundus_," he whispered twisting the wand in his fingers and then the two bank workers stood enchanted, affected by the spell, masking the entrance to Harry's escape route. It would only take a second or two but it might be enough to delay any pursuers. Merlin, he hoped Ginny had got to Elgin in time. "Ginny, love," he chanted under his breath. "Please, please hurry up. Be there. Now would be good." There was a sudden ring from his coat pocket. The phone rang twice more and then stopped. The signal. Merlin, he loved that girl.

Harry's relief trickled through him. "Stay here for another minute please," he said to his bewitched colleagues. His reply was vacant stares and in that instant Harry pivoted on his heels and took off running. He was still as fast as he had been back in the days when his cousin, Dudley, had played the game 'Harry hunting'. Being the father of an active toddler didn't hurt either. Hopefully his lift would be waiting for him in exactly the right place.

Moody swore. "Albus," he called. "Albus!" With another muttered curse he apparated to the street beyond.

Hestia's wand was in her hand and she charged after Harry on foot, having to check to avoid his colleagues who were still standing right in front of the entrance to the narrow wynd.

Harry tore up the lane like a professional sprinter and as he twisted his way around one of the corners, as if by magic, a car slowed down in the street ahead. "Yes," he breathed and launched himself forward.

Dumbledore almost smiled. He'd no idea that keeping Harry safe would be so difficult because he managed to evade them at every turn without using magic. Hopefully he could also do that to the Death Eaters. Miss Granger was correct; Harry had a certain control of his magic back and he could also run. A good measure of defence was not to let yourself get caught in the first place. Where could Harry be going? And then it struck him. "The bookshop!" he exclaimed and apparated only to find with a swift whispered, "_Alohamora,_" that it hadn't been Harry's intended destination at all. With a sigh, he apparated from the bookshop to the street that ran parallel to the High Street. Hestia Jones stood puffing on the pavement, her eyes full of frustration fixed on the red lights disappearing round the corner without slowing down.

"He got away," she panted. "I was gaining on him...at least I think I was gaining on him."

Moody chuckled darkly. "You weren't gaining on him."

Hestia shrugged. "I tried. He's fast on his feet and reckless with it. The car he jumped into didn't stop. It only slowed down."

Stowing away his wand, Moody limped out of the doorway he'd apparated into as a couple of cars trundled past at a steady speed. "Hestia's right, Albus. He jumped into a car without it stopping. I don't know if he confounded the driver like he did to those two muggles back there but the vehicle barely slowed down and Potter was clinging to the door handle like a piece of devil's snare."

"What did you see?" Dumbledore directed his question at Hestia. "You were closer."

"I got off a couple of spells, possibly even a tracking spell but I'm not sure it hit Harry. The car was driven by a girl. Long dark hair but I couldn't see her facial features."

"It has to be the Weasley girl," grumbled Moody. "He contacted her. Granger was right. He was expecting us."

Albus could have hexed something. It wasn't often he felt thwarted in this way. But he was proud, too. Harry was showing his courage and resourcefulness at every turn. He wasn't going to sit and calmly do what others wanted him to without a very good reason. "There's no point in us remaining here," he said. "Harry will not return."

"No, the lad would be a fool to do so and he's certainly not that. I'll check tomorrow just in case but I think he won't be a working muggle any longer."

Suddenly a bright dot of light appeared in front of Dumbledore. It grew until it formed the glowing form of a proud, young stag.

"Merlin's...!" Moody threw up a notice-me-not charm then swore as the stag almost appeared to solidify before returning to the ephemeral mist of a normal Patronus.

The stag ignored the other two wizards and faced the headmaster. "Albus," Harry's voice emerged. "I'm not going to be tricked or dragged into doing what you want. We meet as equals. I'm not a pawn any longer and you know it. I will come to Hogwarts when term begins again. Your tracking spells will not work and do not hound my friends and relatives – they can tell you nothing."

"Harry..."

"Do this and I will co-operate. Go against me and I will disappear permanently. I can do it and I will. You must ask yourself this," Harry's voice said. "What has the wizarding world done for itself that I should sacrifice my life for them? Do as I ask and I will meet with you but do not try to control me." The light vanished.

Moody guffawed. "Well, I must admit that the lad has style."

Even Albus had to finally smile at that.

"I would suggest that you agree to his demands for now," Moody offered, his manner unusually thoughtful. "We have his co-operation... up to a point."

"We do. I have no choice," agreed


	35. Chapter 35

**The Unbreakable Vow 35**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.** **I know I do not update as swiftly as everyone would like but life and work and everything that goes with it just slows me down. Thanks again for your patience.**

"...but do not try to control me." Harry snapped his seatbelt into place, his breathing and his heartbeat returning to something approaching normal. "Deliver it to the headmaster, Prongs," he said softly, then watched the silvery stag disappear and slipped his wand back into his sleeve.

The car picked up speed as it left the town, heading south towards the more isolated areas of the region. The atmosphere inside the vehicle was decidedly frosty. Harry, his communication sent, risked a glance at his wife's set face as the speedometer increased above the thirty miles per hour acceptable in a built up area.

"Ginny..."

"Don't say anything," she snapped, her gloved hands tightening on the steering wheel. "I'm driving, I'm angry at you and I'd like to stay angry at you for a bit longer and don't you dare say anything about my hormones being out of kilter."

Harry closed his mouth. He had been going to say something about hormones. "Ginny..."

"You did something incredibly stupid by continuing to go into work this week and I was even more addle-brained by letting you go. I'm almost as angry at myself as I am at you. Note that I said 'almost'." She threw an anxious look in the rear-view mirror but was relieved that the road behind them was dark. "Harry, what were you...what were _we_ thinking?"

"Afraid they're following us on brooms?" he said mockingly and immediately regretted saying it.

"They could well be. Oh, Harry," Ginny wailed. "You sent a _Patronus_..."

"A message only_..."_

"I only hope they didn't get a tracking spell on you."

"They didn't," he said, his voice apologetic, as he noted the worry in her voice. He hadn't meant to snap. "I would have felt it."

"Felt what! Don't go all Star Wars on me. You're no Luke Starkiller," Ginny muttered and forced herself to relax. He was probably right – the escape by car had not likely been anticipated. Dumbledore, for all his brilliance was a wizard, not a muggle.

"Skywalker, Gin," he mumbled for the umpteenth time. "It's Luke _Skywalker_." She could never remember the name of the hero of his favourite film. His magic was strengthening every day and he somehow knew if there was magic in the air - he _could_ feel it. But this didn't excuse the risks he was putting them all through and he knew he'd been wrong.

"You knew that Remus told Dumbledore about that meeting you had in Aberdeen. He may be protecting you for the moment but as a werewolf he owes Dumbledore too much. The Order may be slow to react at times but the members aren't stupid. You know Moody has caught more dark wizards than any other auror and he would have focused his attention on you as soon as you left him a clue. I shouldn't have allowed you to leave the house."

"You couldn't have stopped me," Harry retorted mildly.

"Oh couldn't I?" bit out Ginny. "I need only say two words. Sofa instead of bed."

"That's four words," he couldn't help but say and winced as his wife angrily changed gears. The car roared unhappily around a sharp bend "I'm sorry, Gin. I was going to say that you're the most wonderful, amazing..."

Ginny's lips twitched against her will and Harry risked a smile. "I'm mad at you," she said but the words lacked heat. She couldn't remain mad at him for any length of time.

Harry's smile broadened a little with relief. "I know and you have good reason to be but they were short-staffed and..."

"And nothing, Harry," Ginny's voice rose again, the anxiety easy to hear. "This is our lives and freedom we're talking about and you risked us... You risked Jamie and the new baby."

"Oh!" The smile disappeared and his face flamed in the dark. She was right and they both knew it. "I'm sorry," he offered again, his voice husky. "I just wanted to help and I didn't think."

Ginny sighed. "I know. Thinking things through has never been your strongest point. You've been very good lately but you're _you_ and bound to lapse. That reckless Gryffindor streak can't be kept down for long."

"Hey!" he protested. "You're a Gryffindor, too."

"Harry, Harry, Harry," crooned Ginny softly. "I may be a Gryffindor but I lack your hero complex. I also have the Weasley pragmatism to temper the rash Gryffindor within."

Harry stifled a snort of laughter. "Yes, dear," he murmured obediently.

Ginny rolled her eyes. She _really_ couldn't stay angry at him for long. All he had to do was give her that look from his green eyes and she forgave him. She loved him.

For the next few miles there was silence as they both took stock of their situation. They'd had a respite from danger, a wonderful, private fulfilling time of peace and happiness but they knew they'd been living in their own little non-magical bubble and it was going to burst. The past two months had shown them that the world they loved, the one that they had unwillingly left, still needed them.

And they still needed to live within it.

"In a way I'm still glad I went today," Harry said eventually, breaking the quiet. "Yes, I know we were nearly caught but Hermione..."

"You saw Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "And?"

"Yes, I saw her. Spoke to her, in fact." Harry grinned. "We made peace – of sorts. She was there to persuade me to return with the Order and as I was working in a bank, she decided to cash a cheque. I suspect she changed her mind about forcing me to go back with them. She wasn't there when I came out of the bank at day's end. I saw Moody, Albus and I think it was Hestia. She could have been hiding somewhere out of sight but I think she left as I couldn't sense any others nearby. I get this prickling on the back of my neck."

Ginny exhaled a noisy breath. "Well, it could be your Jedi or Spiderman sense. Either that or you have fleas."

"Thanks." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I think, or at least I hope, she decided to support me this time. She asked for you."

"She did?"

"I was wrong, Gin. I should have been in touch with Hermione and Ron before now. But I was so angry with them – completely out of proportion to anything that they had done. My anger went beyond any blame that could be put on them. I was angry at everything and everybody. My magic was gone, I was losing you and we couldn't trust anyone to do the right thing for us. We've been hiding from both sides and I guess that now has to stop. It's so unimportant in the grand scheme of things now."

"Or Dumbledore's 'greater good'," muttered Ginny.

"Or that." The words emerged through suddenly gritted teeth. "I don't seem to find it so easy to forgive Albus."

"Harry, do you want to...?"

"Invite Ron and Hermione for Christmas? Yes. Forgive Albus? I don't know. I feel rather ambivalent where he's concerned."

"That's a rather fancy word for you to use, Mr. Potter."

"It means..."

"I know what it means." Ginny flicked on the indicator as they turned into the narrow, twisting road that led them to the Sheilhill gates. "I would like Ron and Hermione with us. The twins will have a contact number."

"I have it," Harry admitted. "I asked Hermione for her phone number. It would be good to have the entire family together again before I return to see Dumbledore and whatever destiny he's cooked up for me to fulfil. I know he's not evil, Gin, but he used me like a...a... thing. We would have both been sacrificed for his bloody 'greater good' and I can't forgive him for that."

Ginny gave Harry a sympathetic glance out of the corner of her eye. "Mum will be pleased that you're trying to patch things up a bit. She hasn't been happy that Ron and Hermione have been left out."

"No, nor was Remus."

"Jamie won't know what to do with himself. He's going to be so spoiled with another aunt and uncle fawning over him." Ginny flicked the indicator again. "Open the gates, Harry," she said.

"With magic or the electric gate-opener-thingy?"

"With the 'thingy'. The less magic we use outside the wards, the better."

"Your wish is my command." Harry dug into the glove compartment and pulled out the remote, aiming it at the gates. He pressed the button several times. "It's not working."

"It should be." Ginny drew the car to a gentle stop just in front of the entrance. "I put new batteries in yesterday. It was...oh!"

"What?" Harry was now hitting the button continuously with some force but without any obvious result.

"Harry! Stop doing that!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"You did put in new batteries?"

"I said so, didn't I?"

Harry gave the remote control another shake and pressed the button a few more times for good measure. "It's fried."

"Do you think there's too much magic here?" Ginny asked worriedly. "Will they register it at the Ministry?"

"We're under a Fidelius and protected by the best goblin-built blood wards there are."

"That's not answering my question," Ginny muttered.

"I hope you warded the freezer," was all that Harry said.

Ginny's eyes snapped to Harry's. "Freezer?"

He pulled out his wand and with a quick flourish, the gates open and the car moved carefully up the bumpy drive.

_**xxxxxx**_

An excited Jamie was waiting for them by the front door as they divested themselves of their boots and warm clothing. All these strange new relatives were all very well but where was his Daddy? He threw himself into Harry's arms with a glad cry, burbling happy nonsense. Harry's eyes met those of his wife's above the messy black head. The message was given and received. He wouldn't risk his family any longer. You would have thought by now that he'd learned his lesson. Why throw away five years of caution in a couple of days? "Hey, trouble. You've been a good boy?"

Jamie giggled as Harry set him on his feet and he trotted away to where he'd strewn his toys.

"I made a start on dinner," said Molly, her loving gaze following the child. "I hope you didn't mind, Ginny dear."

"Not at all, Mum," Ginny replied, moving to the utility room. She breathed a sigh of relief. The freezer seemed to be okay for the moment, but it wouldn't hurt to review some protective cooling charms.

At the sound of approaching footsteps she turned quickly, meeting the bright green eyes of her husband now visible behind his famous round spectacle frames. "Everything okay?" Harry asked carefully.

She gave him a weary nod.

Harry pulled her into his arms and dropped a kiss on top of her head. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm a selfish prat. I just got too caught up in our 'ordinary' lives at the very time that I shouldn't have."

"It's just you being you," murmured Ginny, her head pressed against his shoulder.

"I never wanted any of it, Gin, but you know that already and I should stop whining, right?" He cleared his throat briskly. "Can we go back to the topic of inviting Ron and Hermione for Christmas?"

"I agree. Otherwise they'll be alone and as the rest of the family are here..."

"I think the twins and Bill and Fleur might not have stayed otherwise," Harry admitted. "And it's safer for them here at the moment. But that's not the only reason. I want a family Christmas – a proper one - and they're our family. They were my first experience of what a real family should be."

"It's the right thing to do." Ginny pressed a soft kiss upon his lips and Harry, almost forgetting that his mother-in-law and the rest of his family were only feet away, drank in her sweetness. Their lips clung together, the fire between them rising, until they reluctantly parted with the unspoken promise of more when they were alone.

"Witch!" Harry murmured, his voice deepening.

"Absolutely." Ginny smiled and ran a gentle finger over his cheek. "Ron and Hermione... Have you forgiven them?"

"Just about. I won't stand any more for Hermione thinking she can lecture and scold me like she could when I was eleven."

"Doesn't mean that she won't try."

"Wouldn't be Hermione if she didn't, would it?" Harry shrugged. "The thing is I can't deal with it the way I used to. I'm too used to making my own decisions and she's not always right."

"We make the decisions together, Potter," warned Ginny, her eyes twinkling.

"Yes, dear."

"Just so you know."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**The Burrow**

A quiet pop was the only sound heard as Ron Weasley apparated just outside the Burrow's protective wards. Noting with misgivings that the house was in total darkness, he moved towards it, his steps quickening. Hermione should be home by now. Ron checked his watch to make sure. He didn't like it when she was kept late at the Ministry by the prat. He refused to say his brother's name. That traitor was no part of their family after the stunts he had pulled. Still, even 'the prat' should be aware that it just wasn't safe for a high-profile muggleborn witch to be traipsing around the country by herself at odd times. There was a war on.

Ron had decided that he wasn't going to stand for it any longer and, even if it did annoy Hermione, he would steel himself to have a word with her... boss. He gave a sneer at the thought. They were a family known to be against You-know-who which made them all targets and their association with Harry...

He closed his eyes and sighed. _Harry_... He hadn't trusted them and Ron admitted that the dark-haired young man had been right. They'd not given him the support that they should have. Instead, they'd listened to those who had their own agenda and watched as Harry had grown quieter, paler, thinner and more withdrawn. He'd been ill, deprived of his magic and of the girl he loved.

His heart caught in his throat as he turned the doorknob – it wasn't locked. "Hermione!" he called, a hint of panic in his voice. "Hermione!"

A soft sob caught his attention.

"H...Hermione?" he queried softly, his voice cracking. "What's wrong? Are you alright? Why are you sitting in the dark and c...crying?" The questions tumbled from his lips.

"I couldn't do it, Ron," she hiccupped. "I couldn't."

"_Lumos._" He directed the spell at one of the lamps on the dresser. It lit with a dim glow but enough to see that Hermione's eyes were red and her face blotchy from the tears still trickling down her cheeks. He sat down beside her and put his arms around her. "What couldn't you do?"

"H...Harry," she said as if he would understand.

"Ah," he said with some understanding and some complete incomprehension. "What about Harry?"

"I saw him today," she said with a sniff, fumbling for a tissue. "I saw Harry."

His heart moved from his throat and started pounding in his chest, Ron managed to stammer, "you did? Bloody wicked."

"Ron," she managed to snap.

"But it _is_ wicked. He's alive and if he's alive then we know that Ginny is as safe as she could be." He lifted one of his large hands and smoothed a thumb across her wet cheek. "What's got you so upset?"

"We went to a place within the area we thought Harry could be. It's a town called Elgin. Well, it's really a very small city because it has a medieval cathedral which..."

"Hermione..."

She flushed. "Sorry. Dumbledore only took me along because he thought I could persuade Harry to do what he wanted. He thought that I would be able to persuade Harry to return to Grimmauld Place."

Ron snorted disbelievingly. "Not a hope in hell. Does Dumbledore actually think that Harry would now do what he wants?"

Hermione shrugged. "Well...yes."

"The man's mad. Brilliant but mad." Ron's voice was admiring.

"But I couldn't do it. I couldn't take Harry by force," she confessed.

Ron shifted on the misshapen sofa pulling her tighter into his embrace. "I'm proud of you."

"What! But I..."

"Thought of Harry rather than what Dumbledore required you to do." Ron said. "We should have thought of what Harry wanted five years ago."

Hermione sniffled softly, burrowing herself into his arms. "When did you decide to grow up, Ron? I must have missed it."

"It's always been there... deep down," he said smugly. "My maturity, that is. I'm really an altogether kind of bloke." He gave her a squeeze. "Do you know if...?"

"Dumbledore and the Order got hold of Harry?" finished Hermione. "No. Harry did say that he would contact me but I decided to remove myself from the operation before it happened. I couldn't betray him that way. I would guess that Dumbledore will choose to leave me out of the loop for the time being. Harry wasn't surprised to see us. I have to hope that he had plans to evade capture by anyone."

"It's Harry and he's got out of worse situations." Ron's grin stretched across his face. "Did he really say that he would contact you?"

"Yes."

"Smashing. I knew that Harry couldn't stay mad forever."

"He's changed, Ron," warned Hermione. "He's not the Harry that left us."

Ron nodded decisively. "Good. We've all changed, Hermione. We're five years older for a start. We're engaged and Harry's married. I did say that we couldn't keep treating Harry the way we used to."

She sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Did you? I can't recall that."

Ron frowned. "Maybe I thought it rather than saying it."

"He's harder."

"Merlin!" exclaimed Ron. "Harry was made of stone before he left. How could he get harder? More focused, maybe?"

"I think so - more focused on staying alive." She sighed.

"Hermione, Harry's been focused on staying alive since he was eleven."

"But he's got Ginny with him now. He has her to protect."

Ron snorted and muttered something that Hermione knew was a swear word teamed with something about bat bogeys and woe betide anyone foolish enough to cross her path. "Ginny would argue that she can protect herself. Harry doesn't trust us or Dumbledore to keep her safe. He doesn't trust us at all. That's probably why he walked out and left us and I hate to say it but, he has a point."

"He has." Hermione's eyes filled again. "We were just going to hand Ginny over to Malfoy. Harry knew that the muggle world would keep them safer. I'm supposed to be one of the brightest witches of my age and I just let it happen without exploring all avenues. I did try - just not hard enough."

"Yes, the fact that Ginny was to be married off the very day she disappeared was undoubtedly the main reason for their flight followed by Harry's loss of his magic. Dumbledore would not have told us that little important fact about Harry's magic unless he had to. It's a security risk. The headmaster wouldn't want anyone to know that Harry was defenceless."

"But he's not..."

"No, he has Ginny by his side and she's an extremely powerful witch. She's scarier than many of You-know-who's pals. I think I'd rather face them than Ginny in a major snit. Let's face it. We gave up and Harry never did."

"No, he didn't." Hermione wriggled from his grasp and made her way to the stove. A few seconds later the kettle was whistling merrily. She filled a couple of large mugs with tea and handed one to her fiancé. "Ron, Harry didn't lose his magic."

"But Dumbledore said that he was as magical as a squib." Ron nodded his thanks as his hands closed around the steaming mug.

"Maybe he was when he left but he did magic when I was there. Strong magic."

Ron grinned. "Great. That's our Harry."

Hermione took a sip of her tea and nodded. "It's more than great, Ron. It's fantastic but it shouldn't have happened."

"What do you mean?"

Hermione shuddered. "I read up on that hex after Fleur told us about it. I found it in a book in the library at Grimmauld Place that your mum missed in her cleanup."

"You mean, the books you stashed away before Mum saw that they were Dark Arts materials?" Ron offered knowingly.

Hermione blushed. "Well, yes. There's no way Harry should be able to perform any magic at all – none – not after that hex. The spell drains you of all your magic until you have no more than a squib. It should be classed as an unforgiveable."

"But you can recover, right?" asked Ron anxiously.

"Supposedly... but it's a very old curse, very dark, almost forgotten until now. There have been few documented cases where the subject recovers but they took years to recover a fraction of what had drained away. There are things that have to be done almost immediately to halt the loss of the magic."

"Like what?"

Hermione pulled an ancient book from behind the cushion she was leaning against. "There are counterspells," she exclaimed softly. "But even with all my study of spells and charms, I couldn't have done these without a great deal of practise. It would need to have been someone trained in the medical arts or an extremely powerful wizard."

"But we are talking about Harry, Hermione. He can do things that no other wizard can – even Dumbledore. And I'm counting 'sheer dumb luck' as Professor McGonagall once put it." Ron shrugged off the impossibility of his best friend's improbable recovery.

"But suppose Harry isn't properly healed from the hex. Suppose doing any magic will leave him vulnerable to attack."

"Did he look vulnerable?"

"No."

"Then he's fine." Ron took a large gulp of his tea as if the matter was closed and in his mind it was. Harry would be fine and would get in contact with them when it was safe to do so. He knew he'd not given Harry the support that his friend had deserved but they'd all believed implicitly in Dumbledore's words and actions back then. Perhaps the headmaster wasn't as infallible as they'd all thought. All he could do was be there for his best mate. Harry would need them all again.

A sudden strange buzzing from Hermione's robe interrupted the comfortable silence. "My phone!" she exclaimed. "But it never works here. That's a first." She patted about her person until she located the device. "Hello," she answered cautiously.

There was a burst of static and then a voice could be heard shouting her name.

"The line's not very clear," she muttered to Ron. "Must be all the magical interference."

"Hermione, it's Harry!" The voice emerged through the static.

"Harry?"

"Harry Potter," he said as if she knew any other Harrys.

"What about Dumbledore?" she shouted.

"Missed me," came the faint answer.

"I'm moving to the edge of the wards," Hermione shouted as she headed for the kitchen door. "I have to get out of the house for the phone to work properly. Don't hang up."

"I won't," came the reply.

"Hermione! _Hermione!_" Ron jumped to his feet and chased after his fiancée. "It's not safe to be out of the wards."

"Have your wand ready," she shot back. "Come on, before we lose the signal."

"Lose the what?"

"The signal," she replied. "These mobile phones have improved very much in the last few years but can still be temperamental. Apparently the makers are working to reduce their size. Harry? Are you still there?"

"Yes." The voice was clearer. "Is Ron with you?"

"Yes." Hermione turned Ron and mouthed, "It's Harry."

Ron rolled his eyes."I gathered that," he muttered. "How many Harry's do we know?" He winced as Hermione dug her elbow into his side. "_Ow_, Hermione! That hurt."

There was a dry chuckle at the other end of the phone. "I'm phoning you with an invitation but you cannot speak about it to anyone other than Ron."

"What about Dumbledore?"

"I've arranged to meet with him after the holidays. He can wait. Would you and Ron like to spend Christmas with me?"

Hermione could see the yearning in Ron's eyes and the frantic nodding. "We would like that, yes. But are you sure about Dumbledore?"

Harry gave the little sardonic chuckle once more. "Tell the old man anything and the deal is off." He sighed and his voice sounded warmer, more like the Harry of old. "It will be a proper Potter-Weasley Christmas – the first time we've all been together in five years. I'm not sure if Charlie will be able to get away from the Dragon Reserve but the rest of the family will be here. We've plenty room."

Hermione handed the phone to Ron who placed it gingerly against his ear. "We'd love to come," he shouted.

"You don't need to shout," said Harry, immediately moving the handset away from his abused ear. "Apparate to Elgin on Friday," he said thoughtfully. "Somewhere around about the Cathedral would be best as it is a strong building. Might be able to disguise the magic. I'll get someone to pick you up. I can't give you the exact location. Fidelius charm and goblin wards, you know."

"I forgot that you don't have to shout," Ron mumbled. "Anyway, I was thirteen the last time I used one of these things. Why didn't you tell me?" he asked Hermione.

"Sometimes I think you still are thirteen...mentally."

"That's not fair, Hermione..."

"Ron!" Harry called to get his attention. "Did you hear what I said? Someone will pick you up on Friday. Around four."

"Sure thing, mate. See you then."

Ron handed the phone to Hermione, who put it to her ear but Harry had gone. "We'd better get ourselves organised," she murmured putting the phone back into her robe pocket.

"Organised?" Ron pulled her back into the house and rechecked the wards with a wave of his wand. "What is there to organise?"

Hermione had whipped out a quill from somewhere and was already making a list on a long piece of parchment. "Clothes, presents... we'll need to take food and some bottles of wine..."

"My broom," said Ron.

Hermione stopped what she was doing and frowned. "Your broom?"

"A Weasley get-together always has a pickup game or two of Quidditch."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Ron, I hate to point this out to you but I will. Harry's in hiding, he may not be in an area where it is possible to have a game of Quidditch and I don't think he took his broom with him."

"I doubt Harry would have gone without the Firebolt," Ron maintained stubbornly. "It's still the best racing broom on the market."

"Merlin spare me," she muttered.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Albus Dumbledore wearily watched the gargoyle shift aside and the spiral staircase appear to take him to his office. He'd sent Moody and Hestia home as there was nothing more they could do for the moment. His latest attempt to get Harry to safety had been met once more with failure.

He couldn't help but ponder on Moody's parting words.

"Give it up, Albus, before you alienate the boy completely. Wherever he is, he's safe. So safe that we can't get to him and I don't think that the Death Eaters can either. He won't give up the Weasley girl to Lucius Malfoy and from what Bill Weasley was doing at the Ministry I don't think there's anything legally he or we can do."

"Old magic is powerful," said the headmaster, steepling his fingers together in front of his long crooked nose.

"We are aware that it's powerful and we accept that it exists. But it wouldn't be the first time that Voldemort has ignored what came long before written magic. Magic accepted their union - you said it yourself - despite the trickery that the Malfoys attempted. He's powerful, Albus. I could see it. He's not the same young man who walked out on us five years ago."

And Albus knew that very well and he was glad but it made things much more difficult. Still, Harry had survived this long. Who was he to say that the young man wouldn't win when he faced Voldemort in magical combat once more? "I know. But it makes things much more difficult."

"To control him?"

"No, it means he will not be prepared to work well with others. I never wanted to control Harry – I only ever wanted to keep him safe." Dumbledore's face looked drawn.

The look Moody had given him had been full of disbelief. "Albus, you're a manipulative old goat and you know it. Whatever Potter has to do - and it has to be him, I take it?"

Albus managed to nod.

"Then perhaps you should just let him do it." He stomped over to the door, false eyeball rolling wildly in its socket. " He said he would meet with you after the holidays. I suggest you wait for that and see what he says without trying to _confund_ him and imprison him in Grimmauld Place. He won't take kindly to it. He can withstand the _Imperious_ and as he owns the house anyway, he can control the wards."

"I take your point, Alastor."

"See that you do." Moody had left with an aggravated humph and the headmaster had been left alone to ponder the old auror's words. Alastor Moody didn't believe in saying what he wanted to hear just because he was Albus Dumbledore. Come to think of it, Harry Potter had joined that select band of wizards.

With a rustle of wings and a sudden burst of gentle song, Fawkes left his perch and fluttered down to sit on the desk.

Dumbledore gave a sigh of relief as the tension slipped away from his shoulders and he felt his heart lift. "Ah, thank you my friend," he crooned to the brilliantly coloured bird. "I needed that." He stared the bird right in the eye, his expression pensive. "Do you think I did wrong by Harry?"

The bird emitted a mournful stream of liquid notes.

"Ah, you do." He sighed once more. The headmasters of Hogwarts slept silently in their portraits. The little silver knick-knacks dotted around were also still apart from one little thing that spun incessantly. It had only recently regained its current rapid movement. It had only started to whirl merrily when reports of Harry had started flooding in. It had made him hope that Harry would be returned to them.

Dumbledore eased himself from his chair and made his way to the infirmary. "Everything satisfactory. Poppy?"

The nurse jumped. "Albus, you startled me," she said. "I nearly poured this container of Pepper-up all over the floor."

"I do beg your pardon," Dumbledore apologised smoothly. "I've come to visit the patient. Is he ready to be moved?"

Poppy Pomfrey finished pouring the Pepper-up into the smaller vial before she answered. "He is but he's still far from well."

"It's not safe for him here at Hogwarts."

"No, not with all the children of Death Eaters still attending school." Poppy picked up a quill and made some notes in a journal sitting on her desk. "Most of them, however, left on the train this morning to go home for the holidays."

"That is why it is best to move Severus now. The remaining heads of houses have sponsored a Christmas gathering in the Charms classroom. The infirmary is empty of students and you are going to your sisters' for the festive period. I would rather Severus be with others."

"He wouldn't," muttered Poppy sourly. "Not if you're sending him to Grimmauld Place."

"It is a safe place."

"Sirius Black didn't think so," she stated briskly without looking at the headmaster. "For him it was another prison. It will be the same for Severus."

"He is a different wizard from Sirius. It is only the Death Eaters that hunt him or they would, if they knew he was still alive. Once he regains his strength then he may do what he wants."

"I don't know if he'll ever be strong enough, Albus," Poppy admitted sombrely. "It's a miracle he's alive – even with magic to aid in his cure. I suspect his constitution took too heavy a beating. He may never regain his full fitness."

Dumbledore looked startled. "Surely that's not the case, Poppy?"

"Oh, but it is. When you go in, try not to upset him. In fact..." She handed him one of the vials she'd been preparing. "This is a calming draught. See if you can get him to take it. I would like him to actually relax and sleep."

Dumbledore pocketed the vial. "I will try."

Poppy shrugged, the movement peculiar under all her starched whiteness and gestured to the full-length portrait of a choleric looking wizard dressed in a lime green healers robe. "You will have to persuade Ezekiel Butterfield to open the door. He is most unpleasant. I will be most happy to have Dilys Derwent returned once we have no need to hide Severus."

"I heard that, you stupid woman," barked the portrait. "Call yourself a physician?"

"I am not arguing with a wizard who has been dead for one hundred and fifty years and that's because he mixed up two of his own potions," snapped the mediwitch.

"How dare you, witch," snarled Ezekiel and opened his mouth to start ranting.

"If I may, Healer Butterfield?" interrupted Dumbledore mildly. "I would like to visit with your patient."

"He is no patient of mine. In the old days a patient had to be really sick to deserve treatment in this infirmary. Where are the leeches? Has he been bled?"

"Healer Butterfield?" Dumbledore gently reminded the portrait of his duty. "If you could?"

"Password?"

Dumbledore frowned and glanced at Poppy. She grimaced and sighed before enunciating clearly. "Bulbadox Powder." The portrait swung aside revealing a plain wooden door.

The headmaster's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, "Bulbadox powder," he repeated. "That's not something I've heard for many a year."

"No, thankfully the use of that treatment on haemorrhoids has all but vanished." Poppy sniffed. "You should not have asked him for his suggestions. That was the best of a really bad bunch."

Dumbledore gave the mediwitch a wry smile. "Ah, I see." He smiled and Poppy took it as her cue to remove herself from the office. Once the mediwitch had disappeared, he gave a gentle tap on the door.

"Enter." The voice was slow, drawling carefully through every letter.

"Severus," Dumbledore said, a genial smile on his lips as he hid his pity for the wizard seated in a large green leather armchair, a book open on his lap. The Potions Professor had always been a powerful presence in their lives, tall and gaunt, with his long lank hair and eyes so dark that the irises merged with the blackness of the pupils. Now, the eyes were sunken in and the spare frame was emaciated to the point of being skeletal. Long fingers clutched at the shawl wrapped around his bony shoulders for warmth.

"Headmaster," he replied, his voice a thread of sound.

"You are looking stronger."

The Potions Master gave a derisive sniff, a glint of something approaching his familiar cold fire appearing in the depths of his black eyes. "I know exactly what I look like, Albus, and it isn't good."

Dumbledore held up his hand. "Peace, Severus, I did not come to quarrel."

Snape carefully turned a page in his book, his gaze fixed on the pages. "You came here for a reason?"

"Madam Pomfrey thinks you are well enough to be moved..."

"Moved where?" Snape snarled. "You make me sound like a piece of disposable merchandise. Oh, I'm sorry, I am a piece of disposable..."

"Severus!" thundered Dumbledore. "Enough." His voice softened. "My boy, you were _never_ that. Your bravery saved more lives than I could count. I am glad that you are still alive."

"I am alive. Something that should not have come to pass. The Dark Lord wished me dead, ergo, I am dead."

"Yet you are alive."

Snape lifted his dark eyes briefly to those of his mentor. "I am not living. I cannot walk freely about this school as I did before. I cannot help you..."

"Severus, I value you far more than you think I do. I did not want your death on my conscience."

"I make my own decisions, Albus, whether they are good or bad. Your conscience is your own to deal with." Snape closed the book carefully, his hands tense. "What of the Potter brat?"

Dumbledore looked surprised. "Harry... Severus, Harry is hardly a child. He's twenty-three, a young man. But, Harry is, as usual, proving to be rather stubborn."

"Not doing what you want him to do, is he?" remarked the Potions Professor snidely. "He never could follow the rules set out for his and everyone else's safety."

"Severus..."

"Potter always was an arrogant, attention-seeking, spoiled..." He clenched his teeth. "Just like his father before him."

Dumbledore sighed deeply. Would Severus ever see Harry for who he was? "Harry was never spoiled or attention-seeking. You never saw Harry, you only saw James. You were never able to get past a childish grudge."

"It was more than a grudge," Severus interrupted feverishly, his eyes wild. "You know what they did to me. I could have died."

"But you did not and you were never blameless in your altercations with James and his friends. You are a grown man and you chose to vent your spite upon a child – a child who had never known his father. You could have died this time but you were found in time by the right person. You cannot cling on to your hatred."

Snape's lip curled. "You may find that I can."

Dumbledore gave Snape a disappointed look. "Harry may have looked like James but he is much more like his mother. Severus, Harry truly is Lily's son. He inherited much more than those green eyes of hers. If he had not found you..."

The Potion Master's jaw clenched. "Don't you think I know that," he snarled. "Do you think I want to be indebted to Potter's spawn? I was ready to die, I deserved it, welcomed it. But no, the little bastard had to be wandering nonchalantly about the woods after all that we'd done to find him – after all _I_ had done to protect him. Had he no thought of the danger he'd placed himself in? No. He had to be noble and have my life owed to him as did his father before him." He stopped suddenly, his face paling unhealthily.

Dumbledore had never seen such pallor on one who was still alive. "Severus...I'll call for Poppy."

"No need. Sorry," he muttered, fumbling in his robes, his shaking hands uncorking a vial and tipping the contents down his throat. He shuddered as the taste of the potion made itself evident. "Merlin, that's vile and I brewed it."

"Severus..."

"I promised you that I would protect the boy," he whispered, his breathing shallow. "I did it for Lily. Not for you, or Potter or even the boy. I did it for her."

"Oh, Severus."

"And this is how he repays me." His voice began to rise again, the anger clearly discernible on his face. "Lily's sacrifice was all in vain and that posturing numbskull prevents me from joining her in death." The last word had risen to a howl of bitter frustration. "I owe him my life, one that I didn't want to keep!"

"Life is precious, Severus," Dumbledore said warningly. "There are those of us here who would not like to see you throw it away so recklessly when others had no choice but to leave this adventure and set out on the next one. Yes, you cannot spy for us but you are one of the best Potions Professors in the whole of Europe."

Snape's fingers' tightened on the book he was holding before placing it on the table by his chair. "What do you want?" he asked.

"There will be times ahead when we need your skills for healing. I need you to make Wolfsbane, Veritaserum, calming and sleeping draughts because our stocks are low. You know Voldemort's methods and moods better than anyone else that we have. Oh, you are valuable to us, my boy. As I said, Poppy thinks that you are well enough to be moved if we are careful but we can only do it once all the students are in bed."

"I'm still 'dead' then?"

"I suspect that Voldemort and his associates deduce you may be healthier than they hoped but they have no proof without the body. For your own safety we will not contradict reports of your unfortunate demise."

"How Slytherin of you, Albus."

The headmaster's eyes twinkled. "I may have been a Gryffindor but the sorting hat said that I could have done well in any of the other houses."

"Yes, you do show some Hufflepuff tendencies," sneered Snape.

"There are several children of current Death Eaters attending Hogwarts. Young Mister Eaglesham has never been accident prone in all of his six years attending the school but he has snooping round the hospital wing, your office and your potions classroom down to a fine art. He and Mister Yaxley."

Snape smirked. "Eaglesham is a fool and Herbert Yaxley's far too much like his father."

"We will wait until after curfew and then use the hidden passages to smuggle you out of the school."

"How are you getting me to London? I am making an educated guess that I will be recuperating at Grimmauld Place and I am well aware that I am not fit enough to apparate or fly. Poppy would not allow you to move me otherwise."

"You will be using the Floo at the Hogshead," stated Albus. "I have it on Aberforth's word that it is not being monitored closely by the Ministry. The school fireplaces, as you know, are not secure."

Snape dipped his head in agreement. "No, not if the Ministry is as compromised as we've always suspected."

"The House Elves have packed your belongings for storage. Your private potions lab has been transferred in its entirety to the basement of Grimmauld Place. It is large enough and well warded for brewing."

"And Potter?" Snape asked carefully, his eyes darting away from the headmaster's.

"Ah, yes. As I said, Harry is being stubborn. He is safe but unwilling to give away his location...even to me."

"You really don't know where he is?" Snape paused and then a soft sinister chuckle burst from low in his chest. "You _really_ don't know where he is?" he repeated. "I find that singularly amusing."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed angrily as he exhaled loudly. "It is for his own protection that we seek him."

Snape's deep-set eyes gleamed. "He's managed without your protection for five years. What of the Weasley chit?"

"Safe, I think. Bill Weasley formally registered her marriage to Harry at the Ministry."

Snape did stare at Dumbledore at that point. The boy's bid for independence had been a successful one. "They are married? But..."

"The Malfoy contract faded away. The magic within did not hold. Ginny Weasley is now Mrs. Harry Potter. Something stronger took precedence – Harry's love for Ginny. There is nothing I, or the Ministry can do."

"No, not if Weasley formally announced the marriage. It is strange..." the potions professor mused thoughtfully.

"How so, Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

Snape pursed his lips before answering. "The Weasleys are still a pureblood family even if they don't behave like one but it is, I must admit, unusual behaviour. It's almost as if they've been advised to follow these traditions. Who would the Weasley family turn to for advice if not Albus Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore held out his hands, the picture he made, strangely helpless. Severus had brought up an idea he had not considered. "The Malfoys are, I am told, furious," he said. "And will make things difficult. But they have no legal evidence."

"The contract just faded away?" Snape echoed. "Lucius had the best lawyers draw up that agreement." He chuckled again. "I don't like Potter but I dislike Lucius Malfoy even more and hearing that his plans have been thwarted does fill me with some satisfaction."

"I can understand why you feel that way. You and Lucius were Slytherins together. But Harry and Ginny were more devious or determined than I planned for... or thought," he amended.

"Planned, Albus?"

"I love the boy, Severus, more than I should. But it should never have gone this far. He has threatened to leave the wizarding world."

Snape's sunken eyes widened in shock. "The Poster Boy of the wizarding world threatening to leave! Well, there's hope for him yet."

Dumbledore frowned. "Harry is the only wizard who can destroy Voldemort but each of us can play our parts. You have more than done yours, Severus." He leant forwards and patted Snape gently on the shoulder. "I will return after curfew." He straightened up as Madam Pomfrey bustled in.

"I must insist that my patient gets some rest." She tapped at the back of the door. "Healer Butterfield will let you out."

Dumbledore nodded and, as he pulled the door closed behind him, they heard his genial voice say loudly, "Ah, Mr. Eaglesham, have you come to see Madam Pomfrey? She did say you were hanging around the infirmary. Have you something you want to discuss with her? No matter how embarrassing, we all have these little issues when we hit puberty. Why, I did at your age. No, you don't want to see her? There's a tonic that will certainly help..."

They could hear the young man mumbling and could picture the scene as he fled the infirmary. Poppy chuckled. "He won't be back today."

Severus raised a thin eyebrow. "No, I don't suppose he will. Considered for all the houses! Hah! That man should have been a Slytherin."


	36. Chapter 36

**The Unbreakable Vow 36**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.** **I know I do not update as swiftly as everyone would like but life and work and everything that goes with it just slows me down. Thanks again for your patience.**

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

**Outside Elgin Cathedral**

Hermione shook as the cold air attacked her exposed nose. "Merlin, it's freezing."

"You don't say," Ron shot back sarcastically as he shivered despite being swaddled in warm clothing, the only thing visible being the tip of his nose. "December and Scotland?" he muttered. "Why would it be warm?"

"Did you remember to take the Christmas presents?" she asked anxiously. "I shrunk the turkey and the ham and the plum pudding. Molly made the cake months ago. She's been feeding it with firewhisky and elf-matured port since it came out of the oven..."

"Hermione, stop worrying," Ron said calmly. "You laid it all out on the kitchen table, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Then it's in my pocket. If we forgot anything we can just apparate back and get it. Magic, remember? So, no problem. I know how important the cake is to mum. It's quite safe." He patted the side of his new winter cloak as he stared at the slightly eerie visage of the ruined cathedral. "It's very quiet around here."

"Yes. Probably why Harry chose it as a pickup point, plus the town centre is largely pedestrianized."

"What!"

"No cars, Ronald."

"Oh, yeah. I knew that."

She moved to the railings and peered through them at the crumbling edifice. "It's old, very old, and I can feel the ambient magic." She peered closer. "Ghosts are not limited to Hogwarts," she murmured with satisfaction. "The ghostly outline of a cleric could be seen walking calmly away towards the chapter house.

Ron gazed with interest at his surroundings. "It's also away from the town centre. From what you were saying, I believe that Harry's had enough problems with wizards in that part of town."

"It's getting very dark."

"It's December, it's Scotland, it's Christmas Eve and it's nearly four o'clock," said Ron grumpily, almost repeating what he'd said earlier. "I'm not surprised that it's 'getting very dark'. How did you persuade 'the Prat' to let you off early?"

"I asked for a half day. I said that I had shopping and preparations to do. I wasn't telling lies. The Ministry was dead quiet. I don't think anyone was actually working apart from Percy. He couldn't say no after all the extra time I worked. I put in unpaid overtime for him on a number of occasions."

"Who'd want to spend time with him anyway?" sneered Ron.

"He's still your brother, Ron, and one day perhaps he'll regret the way that he's behaved. The thing about Percy is that he truly believes he's doing things for the best."

Ron snorted. "You've said that before, but I have trouble believing it."

"In the Ministry on Christmas Eve, Ron, Percy was putting in his normal day's work. Probably the only wizard doing so. Give him a task to do and he will try to fulfil it to the best of his ability. I may not appreciate the way he has dealt with things but..." She sniffed and flicked her wand at a sign attached to the railing. "_Lumos."_ The words could be read clearly. "This cathedral dates from the thirteenth century."

"So it's fairly new then," said Ron.

"It's medieval," retorted Hermione. "That's not new."

"Ollivanders has been making wands since 382BC."

"True," Hermione admitted, "but this is a _muggle_ building. Known as 'The Lantern of the North'." She squinted at the sign. "Maybe because it kept getting destroyed by fire." The ghostly cleric in the process of lighting an equally translucent lamp turned and frowned at them. "It was actually built without magic. Think of the craftsmanship... Ron?"

Ron had moved away from the gates and was staring at the empty street. The faint sound of traffic could be heard on the main road but the area around the cathedral itself was quiet. The road they were standing on was a dead end so unless you were visiting the cathedral or the adjoining park, there was no reason to be there. "When did Harry say he would be here?"

Hermione moved under the glow of an orange street lamp. "He said around four and it's just that now."

Ron stiffened. "Something's coming."

A car with its indicator flashing turned into the road and the couple moved into the shadows, their hands going automatically for their wands. The vehicle slowed to a gentle stop and the window wound down. A head popped out and yelled, "Hey!"

"Fred?" exclaimed Ron in amazement. "Is that you?"

"Well, I could be George."

"But I'm George," said another voice from the passenger side. "Do we need a security question?"

Hermione turned to her fiancé. "Maybe we should. How do we know it is actually Fred and George? Ron, is there something that only you and the twins would know?"

"That's good enough for me," said the driver. "That sounds too much like Hermione to be a faker. And yes, I am Fred."

"But I thought I was Fred."

Hermione had had enough. In an instant her wand was in her hands and Fred, who was in the driver's seat, somehow found the ten and three-quarter inch vine wood wand pressed firmly against his neck. "I hope you are who we think you are. If not..." She let the words tail off threateningly and then added, her voice dropping to a snarl, "...use your imagination."

"Use that brilliant mind of yours, sister-in-law to be," sang out Fred, completely sanguine at the threat of possible spell damage. "Why would the lovely George and I be in a car at the place designated as a pick-up point by a certain wizard relative-of-ours-by-marriage?"

Hermione scowled.

"I don't want to say the name out loud but the son-of-Prongs..."

George got out of the car and opened the rear door with a flourish. "Too many hyphens, Fred, and we need to get out of the open."

Ron shrugged and dived into the back seat. "I'm convinced and besides, it's bloody freezing."

Hermione stood, her arms crossed, tapping her foot for a moment longer and then, as if she realised how silly she was being, tumbled into the car after her fiancé. Immediately after she was in, even before the door was closed, the car moved swiftly away from the looming black shape that was now the cathedral. She gave a little screech of protest.

"Time to go, Hermione," said George. "You did bring the turkey? If you haven't, you need to get back to The Burrow. No turkey..."

"Of course I did." Hermione sat back in her seat, her hands fiddling with her seat belt. "Is this Harry's car?" she asked.

"Yes," said Fred. "Very nice, isn't it? And he allowed us to borrow it."

Hermione groaned. "Then it flies or turns invisible."

"Nope," said George. "It's a muggle car. It doesn't do anything apart from drive."

Ron looked perplexed. "It doesn't do anything?"

"Nope," said George again. "Well, you switch on the engine, put it into gear and it moves once you release the handbrake. I would say that that was something."

"What?" asked a bemused Ron.

"As my handsome brother already said, it's a _muggle_ car, dimwit," chipped in Fred. "Harry lives like a muggle and that's how you drive a car. You've driven Dad's old Ford Anglia."

"Wasn't quite the same," Ron mumbled. "Dad had completely magicked it. I mean... it flew and turned invisible."

"Muggle cars don't fly, little brother," said George.

"I knew that," snapped Ron. "But this is Harry's car and I would have thought..."

"Actually," mused Fred. "There is one thing it does..." He leant forward and flicked something on the dashboard. "Gotta love muggles and flicky, pressy things."

"A switch, my dear brother," intoned George loftily.

"What did you do?" Ron squirmed a little. He could have sworn that the seat he was sitting on was getting warmer. "Guys..."

"It's a heated car seat, Ronald." Hermione shot him a look of disapproval and then stared out of the window at the darkening scenery, wriggling a little to get warm. She noted the road signs as they passed. They were heading south. "Harry doesn't live in Elgin?"

George shook his head. "Too many people."

"But it's not a big place."

"Not if you compare it to London but it's big enough," said Fred. "Harry and Ginny's house is completely isolated, like any wizard's place. It's warded and under a Fidelius."

Hermione gave an approving nod. "He's not taking any chances then."

George glanced at Fred who gave a minute shake of his head. "No, he has taken paranoia to an almost Moody-esque level. Harry has his family to protect."

Twenty minutes later, the car turned off the main road and headed along a twisting tree-lined lane. The temperature had been steadily dropping since they'd left Elgin and it hadn't been warm to begin with. Flakes of snow were cascading downwards in earnest and the headlights of the car drew them into a strange white world.

"We're nearly there," Fred said with a sigh of relief as the car slowed to a standstill. He dug into the glove compartment and pulled out a small piece of card which he handed to Ron. "Read this and commit it to memory. Harry hopes that you've both been working on your Occlumency shields."

Ron knew what it was - Harry's address. He held it out to Hermione. She glanced over the words and nodded and magically, a set of impressive steel gates appeared before them from what had seemed to be impenetrable woods. Slowly they opened and the car eased its way up the bumpy drive.

Hermione had to admit she was impressed. Harry really was being careful. No wonder he'd been impossible to find. She had no idea what type of house Harry and Ginny would have chosen for their home. His parents and Sirius had been wealthy and her friend had a good amount of galleons in his vaults but Harry had never bothered about money. As the car rounded the final bend, she gave a gasp and immediately fell in love with the house. This wasn't a temporary hiding place; this was long-term and permanent. This was a home.

Christmas had come to Shielhill. The falling snow was thickening and a large tree festooned with sparkling lights could be glimpsed through one of the windows. It looked like an image from a Christmas card.

Fred took the car towards the open door of a double garage. "Harry said to put it in here. The weather forecast has been hinting at this for days but has never quite delivered. He doesn't want to be shovelling snow off the car if he needs it for anything. They're higher up here and get more of the bad weather."

"But he's a wizard - he doesn't need a car," said Ron.

"What part of living like a muggle don't you understand?" asked Fred. "He's not in the way of using his magic... at all!"

George sighed, his customary levity absent. "He's had none to use...or so he said. I believe that, according to Harry, that state of affairs was thankfully temporary and his magic has recovered gradually over the past five years. Therefore, he needs a car."

"He said as much to me in the bank," Hermione admitted. How much of a recovery had Harry's magic really made? What she had seen him do had looked as powerful as ever but what she had researched on the curse made her doubtful that anyone – even Harry – could recover so quickly. "I still can't believe that his magic has returned to its previous level."

George nodded. "We think that it has. He's just used to doing things without magic and it helped being muggle-raised. What the ministry department for wand control can pick up is remarkable, especially if he or Ginny is outside the Fidelius. Remember, Ginny was...is still wanted for absconding instead of dutifully marrying the Malfoy ferret bastard. I just don't see what they could do to her now that the union has been officially accepted by magic."

"And also by William, head of House Weasley."

George beamed. "Ah, yes, my esteemed eldest brother."

"For the first few years Harry couldn't use magic and then he was afraid to," added Fred. "Neither he nor Ginny wanted to risk being discovered for carelessly using a spell."

"But..."

Fred urged them from the car. "It's perishing out here, kids. Let's get you inside."

Ron and Hermione followed the twins out of the garage and made for the front door but before they got there it had opened and Harry's familiar figure was framed within it. Within seconds, both Ron and Hermione had their arms around him. They were laughing and crying, spluttering apologies and half-understood explanations.

"G-G-Ginny?" Ron managed to stammer.

"Waiting for you inside, mate, with the rest of the family," murmured Harry, thumping him on the back. "It's been a while."

"Yeah," said Ron. "It has."

"You hungry?" asked Harry. "Molly was baking earlier on today."

"Famished," said Ron. "Lead on."

Hermione stared in disbelief, her mouth open. "That's it?" Her hands curled into fists. Five years of nothing then instant acceptance and that was it? "That's it?" she said again her voice rising.

Harry and Ron stopped and looked at her. "Well, yes," they said in unison. "What do you want us to do?"

Slowly shaking her head, Hermione looked to the snowy sky with wide eyes and not for the first time ground out between clenched teeth, "I don't believe it. Men!"

"Hermione...Ron..." Molly Weasley bustled forward and divested them of their cloaks and hats. "Close the door, boys. The weather's been threatening this for the past week and we want to keep the heat inside the house. I've just taken the apple and cinnamon scones out of the oven. Go!" She ushered them ahead of her. "The whole family is here and..."

Ron swallowed and croaked, "Where's Ginny?"

Suddenly, a red-haired blur ran past her mother and threw herself at the newcomers. "Ron! Hermione!" she cried. "I've missed you both so much."

Harry chuckled and then with a blissful smile Ginny withdrew from Ron and Hermione and wrapped herself in her husband's arms.

"It's good to know that you're both safe and well." Hermione dashed the spilling tears from her eyes and took the deep breath that all watching knew would be the beginning of a stern lecture. "But..."

Ron shook his head and interrupted immediately. "No, Hermione," he said firmly. "They did the right thing and you know it. Lecturing them now is pointless. I'd rather see Ginny married to Harry than bound to that evil little blond ponce."

Harry's eyes widened and Ginny gave a little grimace. It seemed that her brother had done a bit of maturing in the years that they had been gone. Perhaps Ron and Hermione would be a good match after all. Hermione would always be ahead in applied intellect but Ron wasn't stupid and finally seemed to be acting in a grown-up manner. She glanced at Harry. "I think we should do the introductions now."

Harry agreed. "Ron, Hermione... we have someone we would like you to meet," he said solemnly.

"Who?" Hermione looked mystified. She knew the whole family was here apart from Percy, who wasn't welcome, and Charlie, who was still in Romania. They'd seen both Remus and Tonks recently and somehow she didn't think that Harry or Ginny were ready to welcome Dumbledore into their home.

Harry and Ginny merely smiled at one another and led the way into the living room.

"Dad...Dad...Dad," shouted a little figure, eyes like his father's, dark hair standing on end but with his mother's smile. "Mum..."

Fleur held the wriggling little boy firmly on her lap. "He is très sweet," she said with a silvery chuckle. "I hope ours is just so."

Bill dropped a kiss on Fleur's head. "He...or she... will be."

Hermione and Ron advanced to the middle of the living room, their faces white with shock. "Ginny, is that a...baby?"

"Well, it's clearly not a teacup," Ginny said tartly.

Jamie's little face turned towards the newcomers and a hint of a pout appeared. "No!" He wriggled from Fleur's grasp and ran across to hide behind his mother, peering out at the strangers.

Harry nodded proudly and crouched down to speak to the child. "No, Jamie, you're not a baby. You're getting to be such a big boy. This is your Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. I know it's a lot of aunties and uncles to remember but you'll get to know them all very soon." He grinned at the stunned couple. "Ron...Hermione... meet James Arthur Potter."

Ginny lifted the little boy into her arms and covered his face with gentle kisses. "You're a surprise Christmas present for them, aren't you?"

"You named him after Dad?" Ron managed to croak.

Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder. "He's named for your father and mine. I don't think it's possible to find two finer men to honour."

Hermione's face showed her worry. "But Ginny, Harry, how could you do this?"

Ginny smirked. "Well, when a little witch and little wizard grow up, they play around with the little wizard's magic wand and they get a baby in the witch's cauldron. The Cornish pixies then deliver the cauldron to the witch who wants the baby."

There was a moment of stunned silence and then the whole room apart from Hermione and Molly burst into laughter.

"That's brilliant," wheezed Bill. "Just brilliant. Fleur, we have to remember that one for when our child starts to ask awkward questions."

Fleur laughed merrily and then blew her husband a kiss.

"Ginevra Molly Potter, I'm appalled at you," said Molly, her hands on her hips. "There's a child present."

"Mum, I'm only repeating what you told me," the red-haired witch said smugly. "And currently Jamie's a bit oblivious." She frowned. Her son was happily smearing something over his face in an attempt to eat it. "Harry James Potter, did you give my son that white chocolate frog?"

Harry quailed a little. "I thought he could have a treat since it's the first time he's met Auntie Hermione and Uncle Ron. It's for the trauma, you know, and white chocolate is better for him than milk or dark chocolate."

"Hmm," Ginny said, her mouth a firm line. "You're in charge of bath time then and don't complain when he doesn't eat his tea."

"When is tea?" asked Ron.

Hermione sank onto the leather sofa in despair at her fiancé's behaviour. "Ron," she moaned. "Just when I thought that you could behave in polite company..."

"This isn't polite company; this is family," said Ron with a cheeky smirk. "There's a difference."

Harry, his arm around his wife, his chocolate-smeared son at his feet, had to agree. Life, at this moment, was good.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Minerva McGonagall moved silently through the Hogwarts corridors, the only sound a faint swish as her heavy velvet dress brushed the stone floor. She'd been working on next year's lesson plans in her office when the book in which was recorded the names of all the magical children able to attend Hogwarts had unexpectedly flung itself open and began showing signs of activity.

Minerva had stared worriedly as the heavy pages flicked rapidly back and forth until they came to the list of magical births for about eighteen months previously. The manner of the book's behaviour had been startling but surely it had to be good news.

The quill had paused and was hovering over a page that Minerva had noticed the last time she'd checked the book. The quill had left an entry space blank but there was evidence that it had tried to write something. She'd always thought that the gap was caused by a rare magical malfunction. Now, she wasn't so sure. Could someone have prevented the birth from being recorded? She knew such things had to be possible but she didn't know how it could be done. No witch or wizard would risk their child failing to receive their Hogwarts acceptance letter unless they had a very good reason to do so and a muggle family lacked the knowledge. The children whose names were recorded on the same page were all over a year old.

The magical quill never made mistakes. So what had happened here? Who was so desperate to hide the birth of a magical child... something that was considered to be a wonderful gift? Who had done it and why? Not even Lily and James Potter had attempted such a thing. They and the Longbottoms had had more reason than most, targeted as they were by that damned prophecy.

She waited, her spectacles poised on the tip of her nose for the quill to move again and when it did, her face paled to the colour of the parchment upon which the quill scratched and she froze into stunned immobility for several minutes. It was the name of a child but there was no address – no location for them to contact.

_James Arthur Potter - born May 4__th__ to Harry James Potter and Ginevra Molly Potter._

The Potters...

Not Lily and James but Harry and Ginny. If Lily and James had known such a thing were possible, they would have done it to protect Harry and thus possibly saved themselves in the process. The hiding of the child's name was now explained. The wizarding world would know that there was a new Potter heir. The registry of births at Hogwarts had a matching one at the ministry. Harry and Ginny had rightly done this to protect their child who would be in as much peril as his parents still were.

"I must get word to Albus," the witch muttered. "This is not something we expected at all. What will happen to this child? The Malfoys, the Ministry, You-know-who..." She brushed the soft fabric at her knees and stood up to make her way to the headmaster's office until she remembered that Albus was currently moving Severus Snape to Grimmauld Place. He would want to know immediately but information this sensitive couldn't be told in a _Patronus_. If she hurried, he might still be in the medical wing. Curfew had just passed and Severus wasn't leaving Hogwarts until all the students remaining in the castle over the holidays were accounted for in their respective houses. He was supposed to be dead after all and there were children in the school whose families leant towards the darker side of magic.

Minerva's lips thinned as she thought about what Severus Snape had endured. It was likely that the man might take years to approach the state of health that he'd once had. But perhaps he would recover quicker away from Hogwarts. Severus was a true genius with potions but she suspected that he hadn't enjoyed teaching any age younger than the top NEWT level students. Albus had moved the potions professor's specialised lab to the basement at Grimmauld Place. Severus Snape would spend the next few months, possibly years, brewing potions and doing research for the Order of the Phoenix.

At least he was alive. It had been a close run thing. If he wanted to remain alive he couldn't remain in the school.

She entered the hospital wing. "Poppy, is Albus still here?"

Madam Pomfrey looked up from the beds she was stripping and remaking, her wand outstretched. "No, Minerva, you've just missed him."

"I suppose I should go after him." Her fingers clutched tightly at her wand. "With Albus gone I am in charge of the school until he returns. But I don't know if we can wait that long."

"Is there something wrong?" A sheet zipped off the bed and deposited itself in a large hamper. "I doubt that Albus will be back tonight. He's making certain that Severus settles into Grimmauld Place. After all that man has been through for the Order, I think Albus can spare some time."

Minerva frowned and quickly surveyed the empty ward. She shouldn't say anything until she'd spoken to Albus but perhaps Poppy would know why the entry in the ledger had been so late. The child had been born over a year and a half ago and only now was the quill reacting. Poppy was always especially overjoyed to hear of the birth of another magical child. "May I ask you something?"

Poppy chuckled. "We've been friends for how many years? Of course you ask me anything, you daft witch. There can't be many secrets left between us."

Minerva gave a wry smile. "True," she murmured. The smile slipped from her face and she sighed. "This should be a wonderful happening but I fear it's going to cause a lot of problems."

Poppy sent the last sheet towards the hamper with a swift flick of her wand. "Ask away. It can't be so dreadful."

Minerva sniffed. "I was working in my office and suddenly the book of magical births flipped open."

"Goodness!" exclaimed the mediwitch. "That must have given you a bit of a start."

"You could say that. It's never happened quite like that before."

"So another baby has been born. Who does it belong to? Is it a muggleborn or an old established wizarding family finally having an heir?" Poppy was excited. She loved hearing of potential pupils and wondering if she could remember the parents from their own days in the castle.

"This is not a new birth, Poppy," said Minerva. "The quill that records the entries began filling in a blank space from about eighteen months back."

Poppy stopped her tidying and swallowed. "E...eighteen months," she whispered. "Oh!"

"And when I tell you who the parents are... We're going to be in a world of trouble." The deputy head was obviously worried. "I don't know what Albus will say."

"Albus?" Poppy twisted her hands together nervously. "What about Albus?"

Minerva frowned at the Mediwitch's odd behaviour. "He's obsessed with finding the boy...Harry."

"Why can't they leave him alone?" Poppy exclaimed irritably. "And in any case, Harry is not a boy. He's a grown man. You'd better come into the office," she said, pushing away her disquiet at Jamie's protection unravelling and attempting to appear as if nothing unusual were happening. "You look as if you could do with a drink... or a strong calming draught."

"Better put up some privacy wards, too."

"Why? We're the only ones here." Poppy gave a surreptitious look around the ward.

"Portraits have ears. Anything to do with Harry Potter is to be spoken with care."

Poppy ushered Minerva into her office and with a swish of her wand, two chairs moved in front of the fire. "Alright, Minerva. What has the record of births to do with Harry Potter?"

"The child is Harry Potter's son. Harry and Ginny's son."

Poppy managed a shaky smile. "How wonderful. I always knew, despite everything, that those two would end up together. A toast..."

"But the child isn't a newborn and the marriage should never have happened. We did know they'd married - which was bad enough - but to go ahead and have a child."

"Why shouldn't they?" Poppy asked stiffly. "If they are married – why not? At least they got married. Many witches and wizards don't bother. Why, in my day..."

"Poppy!" Minerva stopped the mediwitch from climbing onto her soapbox.

"Just saying what I think. I'm glad Harry married Ginny and now we have a new generation of magical Potters." Jamie was a wonderful baby.

"The pair is in some trouble with the Ministry for failing to uphold the Malfoy marriage contract."

Poppy made a sound of disgust.

"I know," agreed the deputy headmistress wearily. "I didn't want to see her in that household either but..."

"They're married and the marriage has been approved. I heard that Bill, as head of House Weasley, announced the union formally at the Ministry. Even more proof of magic's acceptance of the marriage is that Jamie's name has now appeared in the register." Poppy gave a firm nod as if that sealed the deal. "The Ministry and the Wizengamot haven't a leg to transfigure."

"How would one mask the magical signature of a newborn baby?" asked Minerva. "Why would one want to...Oh!"

"There are spells that midwives know," Poppy said and then shut her mouth with a snap.

"Spells?"

"Old magic," Poppy said quietly. "I'm sure wizards can do them, too."

"Harry couldn't do magic," Minerva stated firmly.

"Then Ginny could..." Poppy flushed.

Minerva's eyes narrowed. "You said that such spells could be performed by midwives."

"Or heads of houses," Poppy chipped in.

"Or perhaps school mediwitches?" Minerva countered. "Poppy, what are you hiding? I'm not daft and you know it. If Ginny Weasley used her wand just once the Ministry would have picked it up. They would not have released the Trace."

"They're not that accurate."

"They can if they want to be."

"Just as well for Sirius Black that they were not." Minerva's eyes narrowed. "I never told you the name of Harry's son."

Poppy paled. She'd said Jamie's name aloud? Of course, she had. "Perhaps I heard it elsewhere?"

"Not even Albus Dumbledore knows that the Potters have had a child. I was on my way to find him...remember?"

"An educated guess? Harry was likely to call his son after his father."

"Poppy..." The name was stretched out warningly.

"Okay, I admit it," Poppy said fiercely. "I helped them. And I don't regret it for an instant. Albus needs to leave them alone. That young man had to go through more than any other magical being I've ever met. Every year he was a patient in my infirmary. Every single year and no, it wasn't anything trivial. No, he was fighting possessed teachers, basilisks, death eaters on polyjuice, dementor effects and a curse so heinous that it stripped him of his magic..."

A glass was pushed into her hand as she ran out of steam. Poppy stared at the golden liquid in surprise. "Minerva?"

"I always carry a little spirit around my person for emergencies," the stern witch admitted, a little smirk on her lips. "Now...tell me."

"But Harry's safety..."

"Is paramount, I understand. Where is he? Surely, you must know?"

"So that you'll tell Albus? Harry doesn't want the headmaster to know where he is."

Minerva stared angrily at the irate mediwitch.

"I'm sorry." Poppy sighed. "I don't know where he is. I have my suspicions of his approximate location but he's under both a Fidelius and powerful wards. Harry didn't blame Albus for what happened to him, but he did hold him responsible for the aftermath – for not explaining what had happened to him. I'm not sure that I'm so forgiving." Poppy sipped at her single malt fire-whisky and then in a cathartic show of confidence divulged the whole story to her long-time friend. Merlin knows she'd wanted to rail at the sheer-bloody-mindedness of certain wizards. "There was no cure to the curse."

Minerva nodded, appalled at what Albus had allowed to happen. "I know. Hermione Granger did some research. There was a book..."

"In the Black family library?" Poppy drained her glass and held it out for a refill. "I read it by some lucky chance just hours before You-know-who's attack on Harry. Even more fortuitous was the fact that I needed some ingredients for some basic potions I needed to brew for the hospital wing. Professor Snape does the more complicated potions but I brew a mean Pepper-Up. I was in the apothecary when it all happened and..."

"You stabilised his magic. "

"It was all I could do as there is no cure but immediate treatment can reverse or slow the magical drain. Doing what I did, I think, paved the way for his recovery.""

"What does Harry think?" Minerva arched her eyebrow. "If what Alastor says is true, the boy still has strong magic."

"What makes you think I've been in contact with Harry?"

"You've already let slip far too much." Minerva sniffed and glared. "I've been your friend for how many years and you still think that I'm daft?"

Poppy had the grace to look ashamed. "I treated him immediately after that last battle. I crawled towards him. The apothecary was in a complete shambles and he was lying there surrounded by pieces of glass. But later, when reason surfaced, we couldn't believe that Albus hadn't said _anything_. I recommended that Harry be sent to St. Mungos for treatment. But no, Harry was barred from leaving Grimmauld Place. Harry thinks that Albus wanted him to lose some of his magic – that he was becoming too powerful. The headmaster heard You-know-who inflict that horrible curse on Harry. He was standing just feet away from both of us, yet he said and did nothing."

"Albus wouldn't..."

"He sees Harry as a weapon and not as a wizard with a future. Harry thinks that Albus doesn't trust him to remain...well...light." Poppy sat stiffly in her chair. "He likes moving people around to suit his own plans. You know that he does."

Minerva's lips tightened but she didn't contradict the mediwitch. "Who knows what Albus is thinking?

"I knew he was going to run, in fact, I made him a med kit to take with him when he left but that was all I knew. Harry then contacted me when Ginny became pregnant," continued Poppy. "I'd always had a soft spot for him but latterly, before he left the wizarding world, we became very close. He then sent me a portkey in time for Jamie's birth. He was worried that his lack of magic would endanger Ginny and the baby. Ginny gave up using her magic when she left with Harry. She thought that the Ministry would continue to track her wand."

"Harry was never a planner. He always reacted on instinct," Minerva murmured. "Miss Weasley may very well have been right."

"Harry may not have been a planner but Sirius Black _had_ learned to become one while he was shut up in Grimmauld Place, Minerva. Sirius became disillusioned with Albus and Order and the way they treated his godson. Harry was always going to run in some form or another. He has never liked being the 'boy-who-lived'. He felt he had no choice of remaining in the magical world and Sirius made sure he had somewhere to go. Yes, Harry may not have been a planner at one time but I think that's all changed."

"I didn't know until just recently that Harry had lost his magic. To lose what makes you what you are." Minerva's face showed her distress.

Poppy reached forward and clasped Minerva's hand. "He couldn't defend himself against anyone or anything and at the age of eighteen he didn't want to be told what to do. The last time I saw him, his magic was back as strong as it had ever been and yes, I tested it. If it had been anyone else, I doubt they would have recovered as quickly. Harry Potter thrives on achieving the impossible. He's far more than a wizard, Minerva."

"Albus will still have to be told, Poppy."

"B...but why?"

"The book of records has a corresponding one at the Ministry. I don't think it has been checked in some time but if the Ministry steps up their blood classification testing again, they will undoubtedly order the book unsealed. Once those in You-know-who's camp find out about this, none of his friends and family will be safe. They will stop at nothing. Luckily it's Christmas and apparently even the Ministry slows down...more than usual. The headmaster must be forewarned of what will be found when that book is opened."

"Can't we leave the Potters alone until after Christmas?" Poppy pleaded.

Minerva sighed. "There's not much he can do at the moment but I have to let him know if any information surfaces. Whatever you think he's done, Albus was only ever concerned for Harry's safety."

"Too concerned," muttered Poppy under her breath.

"Harry _has_ agreed to meet with the headmaster after the holidays," said Minerva gently.

"Because Albus will not leave him alone," shot back Poppy coldly. "As I said earlier, Harry's not a boy any more, Minerva. You'd better warn Albus of that. He has a wife and son to protect and he will do anything to protect them. He will not meekly submit to the headmaster's whims."

The Scottish witch sighed. "Harry's intractability is going to soar to new levels, isn't it? He never was one to just lie down and take it. I've never met a more stubborn..."

"Minerva, we don't want history to repeat itself. Harry has learned from his parents' mistakes and will make certain that Ginny and Jamie are never found."

Minerva stiffened. "Lily and James didn't make a mistake. They thought they were as safe as they could be. James and Pettigrew were as close as brothers."

Poppy shook her head. "No, they weren't. Otherwise Pettigrew would never have betrayed them by reporting their whereabouts to You-know-who."

"Dumbledore would have kept Harry safe," Minerva said firmly.

Poppy shook her head. "I don't know what your definition of safe is but it is not the same as mine. These days, Harry's view of Albus Dumbledore is rather mixed."

"What do you mean?"

Poppy shrugged. "He appreciates his skill and power but doesn't trust him or believe him infallible. In my opinion, he thinks Albus has feet of clay." Harry thinks that the headmaster is too fond of the bigger picture and forgets the small details...like people."

Minerva's sighed. "Oh."

"I've looked after that boy since he was eleven years old. I want to be able to say the same thing about his son and any more children he has. Albus may have been able to keep him safe but he wouldn't have been happy." She sniffed. "Go on then, tell Albus and see what he plots for his 'greater good'. You know that he's at Grimmauld Place with Severus. Another wizard that Albus hasn't done the best for."

Minerva's face looked saddened. "I have to agree with you, there."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

The door creaked loudly as it swung on its hinges before closing with a strangely mournful thud. A cloud of dust rose in the stale air of the gloomy corridor. Albus Dumbledore turned to his companion with a cheery smile. "We'll get Molly in to give this place a real see-to."

"I thought the wolf was living here. If so, I'm not impressed with his housekeeping skills." Severus Snape placed a shaky hand against the wall.

"Remus hasn't been here much of late," Albus admitted. "He's been doing some Order business for me..."

"Trying to find Potter?" sneered Snape.

"Among other things," replied Albus quietly. "Nymphadora's auror duties have almost doubled in the past year. She wouldn't spend time here alone without Remus. She does have her own flat and although I've told her many times that it isn't safe she maintains that she'll be alright. No doubt, she and Remus prefer to stay there. I can understand even if I would rather have them behind these wards. It hasn't been the same since Harry left." He twitched his nose and tickled out a delicate sneeze. "No matter what we seem to do here, there's always a cloud of dust. I wouldn't be surprised if Walburga Black set an enchantment to that effect."

"That mad old harpy?" mumbled Snape sourly.

"Mrs. Black had many...disappointments in her life," Dumbledore managed to say tactfully. "She lost both her sons. Regulus...Sirius..."

"Don't mention _him_ to me. I prefer conversing with his mother in her deranged portrait form although she's the most unpleasant woman I've ever come across and during the Dark Lord's service I've met several." He coughed delicately. "You have met Madame Lestrange?

"You are living in his house or you are about to be." Dumbledore ignored the question.

"He's dead. I believe this is Potter's house or perhaps yours. Black went through the veil. One wizard that bloody Potter couldn't manage to save." His lips twisted into an approximation of a smile.

"Severus," Dumbledore's voice was sharp. "I should not have to remind you that you owe your life to Harry's actions. If he had not come across you in the forest..."

"Quite," Snape snapped. "I am not suicidal but I do not think my life is worth much to anyone. That damn brat should have left me to die. I did not want to be saved by _him_."

Dumbledore winced. Snape still clung onto the old schoolboy grudge with a vengeance. "You mustn't say that, Severus. Your friends in the Order..."

"I have no friends in the Order...or among the staff. They tolerate me at best and do not trust me." He pulled at the bandages still covering what had once been his dark mark. The wound still hadn't healed properly even after nearly two months.

"Severus..." Albus said quietly. "Madam Pomfrey has warned against further aggravating your wound."

"Snape's eyes narrowed into dark slits, his teeth snarling. "It...hurts," he breathed harshly, hating that he had to admit such a weakness to Albus of all people. "It hurts all the time. The pain is almost overwhelming."

"Poppy..."

"Did what she could. I will have to do the rest."

"You could Occlude."

"Don't you think I'm already doing so?" Snape grimaced and then turned away leaning heavily on his cane. His moment of weak disclosure passed.

"We've put you in here - it was originally Orion Black's study." Dumbledore opened a door on the ground floor. "A bathroom and a kitchenette have been added for your personal use. The potions lab has been set up in the basement."

"The empty room next to the kitchen?" asked Snape.

"Yes." Dumbledore smiled again. "It's a good size and the plumbing suits the requirements of a lab. I suspect the Blacks used it as such at one time. As with Hogwarts, stairs are a part of this house and we wanted to minimise you having to traipse up and down several flights. The lounge and library are on the floor above. This is a tall narrow house, Severus."

"I have been frequenting meetings here for quite some years. I am familiar with the layout," Snape stated frostily. "And I can manage the stairs – I'm not an invalid."

"Poppy thought it would be best not to overdo things for now," Albus said diplomatically. "You are not yet at your full strength."

Snape limped into the room and looked around him. "It will do," he declared. Beyond the gloom of the hallway, the room allocated to the Potions Master was much brighter and spotlessly clean. Shelves already filled with his many books and personal belongings. "There is nothing wrong with me," he snapped. "I have recovered." But his limbs were trembling and his face pale and waxy.

"You said you were in pain," Dumbledore reminded him gently. "I can send for Madame Pomfrey."

"She can do nothing."

"I'll leave you to settle in, Severus. "Dumbledore was alarmed at the colour of the Potion Master's face but knew he had to let the man be. He asked himself if the wizard should have left the infirmary yet?

"This is my domain?" Snape gathered his dignity around him as he subsided shakily into a dark green dragon hide armchair.

"It is. You may set your own wards as you did at Hogwarts."

"And I may leave it if I choose?"

Dumbledore frowned. "You are not a prisoner, Severus but if it was known that you were still alive you would have Voldemort after..."

"Do not say his name," Snape hissed furiously. "Never say his name in my presence."

"Fear of a name..." began Dumbledore.

"I am not afraid!" Snape shouted. "But it..._pains_ me to hear it." He paused gulping in great breaths of much needed air. "I removed tracking charms from my person and my belongings. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you? I have just escaped the wrath of one master. I do not need to be confined by another."

Dumbledore felt the words as a personal blow. He'd asked Severus to spy for him, yes, at considerable danger to his life but surely the man could not consider him as bad as Voldemort – could he? "Severus..."

Suddenly there was a faint chime and the house seemed to shiver a welcome. Dumbledore's face lightened. "We have a visitor."

A tap at the open door and the genially smiling face of Remus Lupin stood within the frame. "Hello, Albus. Good to see you up and about, Severus."

"Remus!" exclaimed the headmaster with a certain amount of relief. "So we shall be three for Christmas dinner? You are staying?"

Snape looked on sourly. He had no desire to be in the same house as the werewolf, let alone dine with him on a regular basis.

"Alas, Albus," said Remus, with just the right amount of regret in his voice. "I am spending Christmas day with Tonks and her parents now that the goblins have strengthened their wards. In fact, I just returned here to pack some things for the duration of our stay."

Dumbledore looked a little disappointed. He liked having people around him, especially when it was a celebration. "Andromeda and Ted have installed goblin wards? A sensible precaution but it doesn't come cheap."

Remus nodded. "They thought the lives of their family were worth the expense."

"If the Dark Lord is determined enough no amount of wards will provide safety," said Snape. "You should know that, werewolf. You couldn't ever protect your _friends._"The last word was spat at Remus with loathing.

"Severus!" rebuked Dumbledore sharply. "That was unfair and unnecessary."

Snape's lip curled nastily as he met the glare mixed with hurt that Remus directed towards him. "But it is the truth...although your golden boy has escaped the Dark Lord's wrath for longer than I had expected."

Dumbledore sighed. "Have you heard anything from Harry?" he asked Remus.

The werewolf froze. "Why would I have heard anything from Harry?"

"You and he were close."

"I liked to think so but he felt he couldn't trust anyone in the Order to help him – including me." The werewolf's amber eyes turned cold. "I let you manipulate me for too long, Albus, at Harry's expense. I could have spent time with him from the moment he lost his parents. I should have but I let you..." He bit off the words in disgust. "I am ashamed of myself."

Dumbledore frowned. It wasn't the full moon for another fortnight. Lupin, apart, from his time as a wolf was a genial man. The hostility he was showing Albus and Severus was unexpected. "Manipulate, Remus? Isn't that rather too strong a word?"

"No, I don't think that it is. You may think of it as a sort of experiment in implementing the 'greater good.' I am not sure that it works and people...children get hurt. Excuse me, I must get going. Andromeda and Ted are expecting me." Remus gave a polite bow and stalked from the room.

"Stupid werewolf," snarled Snape, hatred etched on every skeletal feature. "I would bet my last knut that he's seen the Potter brat recently."

"And how would you know that without utilising legilimency, Severus?"

Snape sneered. "I am a Slytherin and he is not. He was a little too obvious in not answering your question. He's seen Potter."

"Of course he has. He met him in the wizarding district in Aberdeen."

Snape's dark eyes regained some of their former malice. "No, he's seen Potter since then. Lupin has shifted his allegiance." He gave a harsh bark of laughter. "Albus, your pawns seem to be deciding their own fate and not moving according to your wishes."

"You are certain of this?" Dumbledore's blue eyes followed the direction Lupin had taken from the room, his feet automatically moving to follow.

"Of course. Your Gryffindors and their bleeding hearts."

Dumbledore seemed to take a deep breath. "Harry will do the right thing."

Snape scowl was even blacker than it usually was.

"Now, I believe the house elves will have our dinner ready for us very soon." Albus gave Snape a strained smile, for once, unable to mask his feelings. "I'll go and see if everything's in order and leave you to get settled. Our Christmas meal should be served in an hour."

Snape opened his mouth to say that he wasn't hungry but something about the set of the headmaster's shoulders stayed his words.

"Albus, Albus!"

"Minerva!" Dumbledore gave Snape a concerned look and found his expression momentarily mirrored by the Potions Master.

"Something is wrong, she sounds anxious." Snape may have looked as if he was sneering but he held a healthy respect for Minerva's abilities. She would not worry without reason. "She should be used to such feelings as a foolish Gryffindor."

"I, too, was in Gryffindor house, Severus."

"I rest my case," sniped Snape.

Dumbledore placed his wand against his throat and cast a _Sonorus_ charm. "We're down here, Minerva. Just getting Severus settled in."

There was the sound of agitated footsteps and Minerva tapped lightly on the open door before stepping in. "Oh, Albus," she said. "We have a piece of news."

"About?"

"Harry...Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley."

Dumbledore stiffened. "They're well?" he asked cautiously. "They've not been found by Voldemort? We would have heard..."

Snape hissed and Minerva winced at the mention of the dark wizard's name.

"Don't," said Snape at exactly the same Minerva snapped, "Call him, 'You-know-who'."

"Fear of..."

But the Potions Master's eyes were closed, the fingers of his right hand clutched tightly over his left forearm and the depute-headmistress was wringing her hands together worriedly.

Dumbledore looked at his depute. "Tell me, Minerva."

"The book of names," she said. "Earlier this evening, I was working in my office – the book is currently kept there – when it suddenly flew open and the quill started scribbling." She took a deep breath and swallowed. "About a year and a half ago, there was a space left marked by a few smudged ink blots. I thought it was a mistake or a magical child hadn't survived long after birth. It's unusual but it does happen and...there was a new name added."

The headmaster's face paled as comprehension struck. "Oh Harry! What have you done?" he murmured, so softly that none of the others heard him.

Snape frowned. "Why would the book register the name after so long? Surely most names are entered magically at birth. A child doesn't suddenly turn from squib to wizard. Not even the darkest of arts can do that or the pureblood ranks would have been tripled long ago."

"The identity of the child was being masked by enchantments." Dumbledore was shaking his head slowly as if he couldn't believe what he was thinking.

"Why would someone prevent their child's name from being entered in the magical book?" asked Snape. "It would deny them entry to Hogwarts or any other magical establishment, would it not?"

"It would." Albus rubbed a long thin finger tiredly across the bridge of his nose. The boy – if he had guessed correctly what Minerva was telling them - had made it almost impossible for him to act in the way that would allow Harry to fulfil the prophecy and end Tom's reign for good. Slytherin tendencies, indeed. Harry Potter had a sense of self-preservation inherent in his bones. Lucius Malfoy and the Ministry would demand Harry and Ginny's arrest and Merlin knows what would happen to the child if the Ministry decided to act against the wishes of magic.

In the eyes of the Malfoys and the Ministry the Potters had broken the law. But even the Ministry wouldn't go as far as ordering the child to be destroyed. A stray thought tugged at his brain: perhaps the Potters hadn't done anything wrong. He would have to review things in his pensieve; it always made things clearer.

Minerva swept into the room, her wine-coloured velvet dress sweeping the floor with a faint brush of rich fabric. "It is old magic, perhaps not as strong as some charms, but it proves effective for a while. It can be broken quite easily. The more people who know about the child's existence, the less effective the protection and eventually the charm begins to break down. The child in question..." her voice shook.

No one had ever accused Snape of being stupid and he drew back into his chair with a muffled epithet. "Potter has decided to go against any plans made for his well being and reproduce with the Weasley witch." He sat up, the expression on his face horrified and glanced at Minerva who managed to nod. "Albus!" he howled.

Dumbledore shook his head. "There isn't anything that we can currently do. But I fear for their existence if they are found."

Minerva's eyes narrowed and for the first time in many a year, she found herself taking a good look at her boss. "They seem to be managing just fine without us," she stated coldly. ""I'm not planning to hand them over to the Ministry."

"I would hope not, Minerva," chided Albus.

She snorted and turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze. "You could have made his life better, Albus, and you did not. You owe it to him, his wife and his family. You let V...V...Voldemort and his cloak-kissing scum touch one hair of that family's head and I will transfigure you and your lemon drops into something foul."

"Minerva..."

"No, Albus. I want to see James Arthur Potter sitting under the sorting hat when he turns eleven."

Snape gurgled several swear words. "James Potter."

"James _Arthur_ Potter."

"Shite!"

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**Malfoy Mansion**

"Lucius!"

The roar could be heard through the entire mansion.

"Potter has defied us once more and you thought that could hide this from me."

Lucius tried to reassure his leader. "I'm sorry, my Lord, but you have not been strong..."

"I am Lord Voldemort. I am the strongest wizard this world has ever seen. How dare you suggest that I am weak."

"I would never..." Lucius scrambled to repair his mistaken words.

The glowing red eyes focused on the ashen-faced Malfoy head. "Someone has to pay. The marriage cannot be legal."

Lucius swallowed nervously, sinking to his knees. His Lord was not going to like his answer but to lie would bring on more terrible consequences. He had to tell the truth but perhaps he could place the blame upon another. "It has been accepted, my Lord. It was written in the Magical book of unions at the Ministry. I cannot understand why but Magic _ha_s accepted it – therefore it is legal. The marriage stands."

"I am the greatest wizard this world has ever seen. Magic bows to me. It is not acceptable. The Weasley daughter belongs to your son."

Lucius shuffled forward, his mortification plain for all to see. "He never wanted _her_, my Lord, but would have done his duty and produced children for our cause."

"Yet she married Potter and according to my source has already given him an heir. The famed Weasley fertility has been proven true. You let such a prize slip through your fingers. She could have been made to comply."

"What!" Malfoy trembled in his shoes with a combination of fear and rage. This was something his spies at the Ministry hadn't told him. "She has borne Potter an heir?"

Voldemort sat up in his chair and leaned forward. "You did not know?" he asked, his voice silky with menace. "What a pity...for you."

17


	37. Chapter 37

**The Unbreakable Vow 37**

**by **

**Ash Darklighter**

**It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me or by me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. I am also grateful for all the people who have read and reviewed this story. I am quite stunned by all the positive comments.** **I know I do not update as swiftly as everyone would like but life and work and everything that goes with it just slows me down. Thanks again for your patience.**

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

_Lucius swallowed nervously, sinking to his knees, knowing that he had to try and justify their latest failure. "It has been accepted, my Lord. It was written in the Magical book of unions at the Ministry. I cannot understand why... we had the best lawyers galleons could bribe. Magic has accepted it – therefore it is legal. The marriage stands."_

Potter, with his marriage to Ginevra Weasley, had managed to make Lucius Malfoy look like a fool once more. The expression on Bill Weasley's face as he'd gone to register the marriage in the Ministry chambers had clawed at his pride. The young head of the Weasley family had followed tradition as if the Weasley name still meant something in polite wizarding society.

"_What!" Malfoy trembled in his shoes with a combination of fear and rage. This was something his spies at the Ministry hadn't told him. "She has borne Potter an heir?"_

_Voldemort sat up in his chair and leaned forward. "You did not know?" he asked, his voice silky with menace. "What a pity...for you. Crucio!" _

"I did not..." Lucius clenched his teeth over his words as he felt his body turn into an inferno of pain. He collapsed to the floor; his last conscious thought for several long agonising minutes was of the mocking amusement shown on the face of his son who had just appeared in the room accompanied by a frightened-looking Pansy Parkinson.

Voldemort turned and glided from the room. "Nagini! Come!" There was a slithering sound and the snake brushed past, agonisingly close to Lucius's shaking body, and slid after her master. "Ah, Narcissa! See to Lucius, would you?"

Entering the drawing room, Narcissa gasped at the sight of her husband twitching and shaking on the floor. She gave a nervous curtsey to the departing Dark Lord and once he'd vanished up the main staircase, rushed to the crumpled figure on the floor, her hands fumbling for the potions she kept about her person at all times.

"Draco!" she ordered, her voice shaking. "What happened?"

"Cruciatus."

"For how long?" Narcissa smoothed her hands over his hair, murmuring soft reassurances. Too long under the torture curse could drive a man insane. "Narcissa..." Lucius gave an anguished groan of pain. "Draco..." She held out the potions. "Help him."

The mocking amusement faded to be replaced by an expression darker and more bitter than she'd ever seen before on her son's face as he gazed down upon the twitching form of his father. "Why should I?"

"Draco..." Pansy murmured fearfully, kneeling down beside the older witch and aiding her in opening the required potions. "He's your father. You must help."

Draco ignored Pansy, standing stiffly in the middle of the room, his lips twisting. "It's lucky for us that I have a colleague at the Ministry prepared to give _me_ any information on the blood-traitorous family I was to have married into. It was hidden by enchantments but eventually they failed just as the Dark Lord's enemies will fail. Potter has a son."

Narcissa's pale face whitened even further, her hand fluttering to her chest. "_You_ told the Dark Lord?"

"Of course," he spat viciously. "_I had to_. Father should be proud of me for informing him as soon as I found out. After all, it was his mistaken idea to align myself with the Weasley whore in the first place because _he_ thought our Lord had been vanquished. He was wrong and we are paying for that mistake. No matter. She shall die along with her husband and her spawn." He sneered at the man on the floor. "Too many mistakes, Lucius."

"Draco... Show some respect. He's your father." Narcissa tenderly caressed her husband's face. "The Malfoys are a united family."

"Is that so?" Draco's voice was cool. "But when one of the family makes so many mistakes that he is considered not an asset but a liability? How can that help the family to prosper?"

Narcissa tipped one of the potion vials down her husband's throat, watching anxiously as his trembling stilled and colour began to return to his cheeks. "Our Lord depends on him," she whispered.

"Once," snapped Draco tautly. "No longer."

"He does," Narcissa avowed. "He always will."

"Pah!" Draco moved to gaze unseeingly out of one of the many windows in the drawing room.

"Our Lord depends on me more than you think, Draco. Are you so ready to step into my shoes with all that it entails?" The younger wizard whirled around to find Lucius, pale but steady with his wife's support, standing before him. "Be careful what you say whilst under my roof, Draco."

"How...?" Draco managed to say.

"Our Lord corrects his loyal followers. You are not the only potions expert in the family. Your mother, for example, could rival the best potioneers in the country if she so desired. She has improved many a potion Severus Snape invented and never received the true credit she deserved. I will repeat my earlier words. Be careful what you say. You may be the heir of the Malfoy family but heirs can be replaced."

"Pansy and I will marry."

The grey gaze hardened. Draco marry his mistress? "I forbid it. You have a betrothed..."

"You have no right," sneered Draco. "I would not accept the Weasley whore into my bed even if we killed her husband and her child in front of her eyes and left her broken. She's used goods not fit for the heir of the Malfoy family. No, Pansy and I will marry as we should have done years ago."

"No!" Lucius levelled his wand at the young woman.

Pansy gave a little whimper, her hand splaying over her own abdomen. Draco looked at his mistress and gave his father a calculating smirk, unperturbed at the threat to Pansy's life. "Unless we do, your own grandchild – your heir - will be born a bastard in seven months time. I am of age... I do not need your permission to marry."

"You do if you want to inherit," growled Lucius. Then he froze, his sharp gaze spearing the nervous Pansy. "Grandchild!" This was a surprise.

Draco continued on. "And you'd let the title, the house and the estate fall to a lesser branch of the family? I have sired an heir. Pansy must be cherished and rewarded for her fertility. My dear father, the Cruciatus curse must have left your sanity perilously close to snapping. You'll be accepting mudbloods next."

"Enough Draco!" ordered his mother, with chilly resolve. Many thought that Lucius was the dictator in charge of the Malfoy dynasty and that was indeed the truth but when Narcissa spoke they all listened. Lucius was nothing without his wife. Narcissa walked to where Pansy was wringing her hands worriedly and clasped them in her own stilling the fretful movement. It was time to accept the inevitable. "Welcome to the family, Pansy. Does..." she cast a fearful glance to the door, "...our Lord know of this?"

Pansy's eyes flicked to Draco before giving a shaky nod. She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again, her lips trembling.

"He was pleased," announced Draco. "He was the first to know of my fiancée's fertility. The next generation of his loyal followers will begin with the birth of a Malfoy. We stand by him and offer him our advice and support. It is a position many will envy."

"Then you marry and soon - before the child is born. I am appalled, Draco, that you and Miss Parkinson were so foolish to behave in such a disrespectful fashion – but an heir is an heir." She held up her hand. "No, Lucius. I was lucky to have Draco. You know the difficulties I had in conceiving and carrying Draco to term. Ginevra Weasley comes from a family noted for their ability to produce large families. That was the only point in her favour. Miss Parkinson...Pansy...will be my daughter-in-law and a much preferred outcome, if I am honest. It is decided." She assessed the seething men in the room and the still frightened looking Pansy and murmured briskly, "Draco, help your father to his room. He needs to sleep to allow the potions to take their full effect."

"I can manage," announced Lucius stiffly, leaning heavily on his polished ebony cane. He was proud of his son but he did not trust him and matters had been taken out of his hands. Still, the Parkinson chit was with child. He'd doubted Draco had the necessary...strength. "But first. It is the season of good will, is it not? Let us offer our congratulations to the Weasley family in our own special way." He whipped out his wand from its concealed place in the cane and sent off a white wisp of a Patronus. "Some of our... special acquaintances will pay The Burrow a little visit. We'll show them that a little thing like the inadequate wards they undoubtedly have on that run down hovel will not be enough to save them."

Draco smiled. "Yes, we should have done this a long time ago. They shall pay. In fact..." He glanced fondly at Pansy. "I might just drop in myself."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

_**The Ministry**_

Percy Weasley stared at the report and the names inscribed in the heavy book on his desk, his mind almost too numb to comprehend what he was reading. Events were once more spiralling out of his control leaving him even more at odds with a family he never truly understood or who he felt understood him. The report he'd commissioned was comprehensive including the new information which had appeared in the record of wizarding citizens of Great Britain - information that had somehow been withheld by magical means. Whoever had managed to do such a thing had access to powerful old magic.

Ginny was married to Harry Potter despite all the efforts he'd made to protect her. She'd not known that Potter was wrong for her – that he was delusional...and a liar. No, Percy finally and reluctantly admitted to himself – Potter had never deviated from his story. Despite all evidence to the contrary he's stuck to his truth.

Ginny was spoiled...headstrong and determined to do what she wanted. He closed his eyes for a moment and quietly sighed. Potter had been right all along. Percy had wanted to be just as important as Potter and had slaved over his Hogwarts studies to make sure of it. Despite being Head boy, he had always felt that he'd been overlooked and undervalued. His family had believed Potter and not Percy. It had stung. He recalled Dumbledore once said that "it was easier to forgive someone for being wrong than for being right." How Percy wished that he'd been right.

Ginny had not wanted his protection and had looked at him with such hate – they all had. Perhaps he had been foolish to contract her to Draco Malfoy but he'd lost sight of the Malfoy family's dark roots and had embraced their wealthy influential pureblood status with the enthusiasm of one who longed for a better life. He'd always said that he wasn't going to be the failure that his father had been – the laughing stock of the wizarding world. He'd been wrong.

And now, Ginny was married to Harry Potter and the mother of a son. She was too young – only a child. But a small voice inside his head told him that his mother had barely been 19 when she'd had Bill and Ginny was now twenty-two. Bill was now the head of the family and had absorbed their father's mantle with ease. Bill was everything Percy had wanted to and never could be. He had the respect of his peers, the love of his family and a beautiful wife. His fingers trembled as they traced the name of his nephew in the ancient ledger. The child wasn't a newborn – he was almost two. Somehow they'd been protected which was a good thing. The child was a Weasley. He could see his nephew in his mind's eye with the trademark Weasley red hair, resembling a smaller version of his mother.

He didn't want Ginny's or his nephew's life in danger. He would have words with Dumbledore about this. He _had_ to have known and kept it quiet – he had no right. He quashed the little voice that said that keeping it quiet could very well have been the thing that saved their lives. Still – Ginny was his sister.

He pulled off his horn-rimmed spectacles and rubbed his eyes. It was 6pm on Christmas Eve and he decided that probably, he was the only person left working in the ministry. He replaced his spectacles, grabbed his robes and made his way towards the fireplace exits. The Ministry was deserted. Only the surly faces of those few duty bound to work during the holiday met him as he exited the lift into the main atrium and headed toward the row of Floo fireplaces. Even the portraits were empty. Most of their occupants had squeezed themselves into the Bacchanal of the Olympus Gods – any sorry excuse for a party.

He frowned. The fireplaces to his left were all out.

A stooped elderly wizard hurried towards him. "Sorry Mr. Weasley, but we're only running one fireplace tonight."

"One?" queried Percy in surprise, his eyes tracking towards the identity badge. He thought the old wizard looked familiar but didn't know his name.

"No call for more, see. Folks are home with their families – even evil wizards, I would think. Still, just in case they come a-calling, we're down to one floo. Security, you know. Name's Aristotle Peabody." He held out a grubby hand for Percy to shake.

"Y...Yes," breathed Percy, shaking the old man's hand politely, resisting the urge to cast _Scourgefy_. "It is quiet." I wasn't consulted, he thought irritably, and I am in charge of the Floo details. He would have words with Hermione when she returned from her holiday entitlement. To have so few staff working was a bit of a shock. But it was Christmas and it made sense from a financial viewpoint.

"I was sorry to hear about your father, Mr. Weasley," Peabody said quietly. "Arthur was a good man – one of the best – not like some I could mention. It must be five or six years now since he passed."

Percy pushed away his lingering sense of guilt and grief at the mention of his father. "Yes."

"Terrible business for you all and especially for Molly. I never saw a couple so devoted to one another and the family."

Percy opened and shut his mouth without saying anything. There was nothing he could say. His hand tightened round the handle of his briefcase.

"Well respected around here, Arthur was."

"But..." Percy knew how his family was regarded by the wizarding world, he'd heard it all of his life and he'd hated it.

"_Decent_ wizards, Mr. Weasley..." The old wizard stressed the first word, as if he'd guessed what Percy was going to say. "Decent wizards thought that he was a good man. There are many around here who should be ashamed of what they've done. But they lord it over the rest of us. They're not decent wizards, Mr. Weasley." He wrinkled his forehead and took a good look at Percy's tired face. "What are you still doing here? You should be with your family at Christmas. Get along home now."

"What about you?" a rattled Percy managed to ask. "Your family don't mind you working tonight?"

"All dead," he said briefly, a look of faded pain in his watery blue eyes. "Death Eaters took them all out during the first war. My wife was a muggleborn. Her magic was as good as anyone else's but they don't see it that way. The children didn't have the skills to fight back. All gone. I've nowhere else to be so I might as well let those with family have the day – it's important. Go home to your family while you still got 'em. Things are stirrin' again and my only comfort is that I'm too old to be any use to 'em...nasty buggers. If they go for me I hope I take some of 'em with me. Young Potter'll see us alright, mark my words. He's never let us down. I don't believe any of that rot _The Prophet_ puts out. Always was a polite lad when he came through the floo."

Percy paled. Harry Potter again. What was it about the man that had so many wizards believing that he was the next Merlin?

"You tell Molly that I'm askin' for her."

"I will." It was Christmas, he should visit his mother try and remove the proverbial boggart from the wardrobe. Otherwise, like the old man, he would be alone. He _was_ alone. His flat was empty and soulless and he missed The Burrow - never stopped missing it even while he despised it. He'd nothing to go home for. He'd never made friends easily and the relationship with Penelope Clearwater hadn't lasted beyond school. She'd believed in Potter rather than him. Her last shouted comments as she'd slammed the door of his flat still echoed in his ears.

He dug into the pocket of his robes and, finding some loose change, pressed a couple of galleons into the old wizard's hand. "It's Christmas," he murmured before Peabody could refuse.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Weasley."

Percy gave a thin-lipped smile, his mind already thinking ahead. He would go home first and change, collect the gift he'd bought and wrapped for his mother before heading to The Burrow. He'd bought it months ago but hadn't the nerve to go and see her before now. He knew that he still wasn't welcome at home but he was a Gryffindor, former Head boy of Hogwarts and respected Ministry employee. Yes, he would go home, collect his gift and apparate to The Burrow. It was a delayed epiphany but his mother still loved him and would surely welcome him home. The rest of the family would not be so easy to win over and he wasn't relishing the fight. But perhaps he could protect them from Potter's blandishments by working from within the family. It was a plan of sorts.

"16b Verb Alley," he enunciated clearly as he threw his specially upgraded blend of floo-powder into the grate and disappeared from the Ministry in a whirl of green flames. An hour later he was marching up the lane leading to his family home.

It stood before him, still strange in style and structure as if rooms had been built higgledy-piggledy one on top of the other – all held together by magic. He fancied that it looked in decent enough shape and that the boys must have been maintaining the upkeep on the place. He took a step towards the building noting that it appeared almost deserted. There were no lights shining from the windows.

The next step he took suddenly seemed difficult and he felt as if he was squeezing himself through a substance with the consistency of treacle. He pushed onwards gasping and struggling for breath. What was that? And then he knew what it was. The wards! Bill had had the wards upgraded and by an educated guess had left a message there for Percy. He was still family...just. Anyone else would not have gained access to the house without having a team of curse-breakers with them. It would certainly slow down an attack, hopefully allowing the occupants of The Burrow to escape.

The front door was locked. It was never locked, he thought. He tapped on the door and then found he was pounding at it. All his frustration, anger and feelings of inadequacy went into each stroke.

The door did not open.

Where else could they be? It was Christmas Eve and his mother always wanted the family around her. There was the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix but Percy had never been there. He knew roughly where it was but it was under a Fidelius and it was too cold, dark and dangerous to be wandering around that area of London in the hope of finding something invisible. He doubted that the family were at Hogwarts – no, it would have to be Grimmauld Place. He hoped wherever they were that they were safe.

"Alohmora," he muttered quietly and the door clicked open. The place was dark and cold. The fire looked as if it had died hours ago. He pulled off his dragonhide gloves and placed a careful finger on the hearthstone – it was cold. There was some evidence of Christmas preparations to be seen but things were strewn around as if the inhabitants of the house had been preparing to go elsewhere. He also noticed that the tin his mother used for her baked goods was missing from its place on the dresser. It was unlikely that someone wishing his family harm would bother to steal a cake tin.

The tree stood in the corner of the room, a lone present underneath it, and something drew him towards it. The single gaily wrapped parcel was lumpy and the tag adorned with his mother's careful copperplate stated the name 'Percy'. He dashed away the tears with a careless hand, knowing that the parcel contained the traditional Weasley jumper hand-knitted by his mother with love. She'd knitted one for him every year since their estrangement and he'd always sent it back, too full of pride and his own importance. What sort of wizard did that make him? He pushed the thought away – it wasn't something he wanted to think about.

Percy shrunk the parcel and placed it in the pocket of his robe. The family were not here. Usually the house was brimming with love, laughter and gaily wrapped gifts struggling to find their place beneath the tree. The smell of his mother's cooking would tantalise his nose until even Percy had given in and sneaked a piece of cake or a mince pie hot from the oven. He placed his own gift in the place where his mother had left his and hoped she would get it soon.

He couldn't stay any longer in the dark silence. It just wasn't home without the family present. Percy slipped from the house, locking the door firmly behind him and added a couple of more security spells that an old unspeakable had once taught him. Getting through the wards proved to be just as difficult as it was the first time – like wading through treacle. Bill had done a good job.

Finally clearing the wards, Percy prepared to apparate home and turned to take a last look at the Burrow. Instinctively, he ducked as a pale blue spell hurtled past him. "What!" he gasped, his wand slipping firmly between his fingers from the concealed arm-holster. He scurried frantically behind a small bush, cowering as several other brightly coloured spells hurtled past the top of his head. He had to apparate _now_. With a deep breath he tried thinking of the three 'D's' - destination, determination, and deliberation - but the very air seemed to have solidified around him preventing access to the swift, crushing darkness of apparition. Nothing happened.

"Hippogriff dung," he swore, fear coursing through his body. Someone had just raised anti-apparition wards. He looked back towards The Burrow again and knew that he didn't have time to return there.

"Get the bastard," a gruff voice ordered. "It's one of the blood traitors... Can't hide that hair."

Percy risked a glance and froze with terror as he beheld several figures dressed in flowing robes with distinctive Death Eater masks.

"Which one?"

"Doesn't matter," a voice drawled in reply. "I object to the hair colour. I consider it to be a blot on the wizarding landscape."

"I am a representative of the Minister for Magic and..." Percy swallowed, the words fading away. He knew that drawling voice. There was only one wizard it could belong to – Draco Malfoy. The thoughts tumbled around his brain. Draco was a Death Eater? He couldn't be. He'd been going to marry Ginny.

But reality had been coming at Percy for months and although he was beginning to acknowledge how wrong he had been, he was still snatching at explanations for the actions of Malfoy. Percy couldn't possibly have been wrong. Lucius had been cleared. He'd been under the _Imperious_ curse. This was a plot to discredit one of the wizarding world's foremost families. Draco must also have been under the curse. Feeling calmer, Percy stood up.

"Draco?" he asked.

"Well, well, well," one of the masked figures drawled. "I don't think I gave you permission to call me 'Draco', Weasley" he murmured. "Shouldn't you be at the Ministry checking over the Floo powder supply?" He gave an unpleasant chuckle. "By the way, the wedding is off."

"But..."

"She's used goods, Weasley. I wouldn't take Potter's whore. I would kill her and let the boy-wonder, Potter, watch while I did it. In fact, I'm still going to do that."

"Your father was under the Imperious..." Percy managed to stutter, horrified at the younger man's coarseness. Of course he knew that the wedding was off. He'd changed his mind; there was no way that his sister would be allowed near Draco Malfoy. He _wasn't_ under the Imperious? The wizard followed You-know-who – he _actually _followed V...V... But he couldn't even think the word, let alone say it.

Draco pulled off his mask. "And you believed him? You are a naive fool. _Crucio_!"

But the spell missed by a hair as Percy dived back behind his insubstantial cover. "Your father donates thousands of galleons to charity and is a major benefactor of the wizarding world. Stop this, Draco. Lucius is a close friend of the Minister and a respectable citizen. You must be under the curse..."

"The Minister is immaterial. He is a blind fool and will not be in office for long." Draco levelled his wand in Percy's direction. "The Dark Lord on the other hand..."

"_Finite_!" Percy yelled, waving his wand at the blond wizard before scrabbling on his knees behind another clump of foliage.

"_Crucio...crucio...crucio_!" Draco chuckled, despite his frustration at missing Percy. "You honestly think that will work? You red-haired cretin. I'm no more under the _Imperious_ curse than my father was." His eyes almost glowed with fervour. "We serve the Dark Lord because he is the greatest wizard that ever lived. He will reward me beyond anything your pathetic mind could dream about." Malfoy stepped forwards his wand now firmly fixed on Percy.

Percy, still on his knees, began slowly shuffling away. He had nowhere to hide – the next piece of cover was several metres to his left. This wasn't good at all. He ducked to avoid another spell

"Malfoy! We got incoming..." a wizard shouted. "Kill the blood-traitor and be done with it."

Draco sent an _incendio_ in the direction of the Burrow, looked around him a little wildly. "Why isn't this hovel up in flames?"

"Wards, Malfoy. We can't get through the wards." Draco swore under his breath. "This is the Weasley hovel. They can't afford it." He looked in Percy's direction. "We could use him to get through the wards..."

"We got incoming, Malfoy," screamed the other wizard again. "We'll get the wards another time."

There was the tell-tale sound of several pops of apparition.

"No! Break them now! I want to see them pay!"

"We've not got time, Malfoy. It'll have to wait. The anti-apparition wards are down. They'll get what's coming to them. We need to get out..." And they were gone.

Percy finally found his wits and aimed once more at the blond wizard. "_Restricto!"_

"But I wanted to..." Malfoy screamed with pain and rage as a jet of orange light slammed into his shoulder.

Percy popped his head over the scrubby piece of shrubbery he was now using as an ill-considered hiding place to see the figures of Kingsley Shacklebolt, his brothers Bill, Ron, Fred and George and what looked like Harry Potter. It _couldn't_ be Harry Potter. Percy's wand went slack in his grasp.

Without knowing who had apparated in, Malfoy took advantage of the distraction and aimed his wand, yelling something that Percy didn't recognise.

Malfoy disappeared as Percy's world went black.

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X**_

Ginny was tired. It had been a long day with all the emotions that had gone into the complete reunion with her family. She deliberately left Percy out of her thoughts. He had betrayed her and their family. He did not deserve to be a Weasley. To see Harry's face as he was reunited with his greatest friends gladdened her heart. They were not the youthful 'Golden Trio' of their Hogwarts' days as they'd once been but their bond would always be strong. Too many things had happened for Harry to just forgive and slip back into the comfortable friendship they'd enjoyed.

It _had_ been a very long day and Ginny did find that she was more tired than she usually was. She was finding that Orion – she'd not even considered a girl's name – was making her far wearier than his brother ever had. A fleeting but heartfelt wish made her hope that Ori would not take after Fred and George.

"You want to go to bed?" Harry placed his arms around her, nuzzling into the fragrance of her hair. "It's red again, Weasley," he noted appreciatively, dropping a lingering kiss on her soft lips. "Your hair...that is."

"I should hope you're talking about my hair, Mr. Potter."

"I like it better this colour." Harry twirled a shining bronze curl around his finger.

She smiled. "I know you do. Are you coming with me?" she asked. "To bed?"

"Not yet. Thought I might entertain our guests for a bit longer. 'Trouble' is sleeping but the family are not ready to follow. He was completely worn out with all the excitement. Who knew that wrapping paper and empty boxes were as much fun as the actual presents? We could have saved a lot of galleons. You look tired. Still beautiful, but tired."

Her eyes flashed with brief annoyance. "I'll forgive you because you said I was beautiful."

"You are beautiful and I'm glad to see the fire back."

Ginny's lips curved into a warm smile. Her husband was far more adept at romance than he gave himself credit for. "My hair reacts to the magic. "We have a house full of Weasleys."

"And muggle hair dye cannot compete with a house full of red-haired wizards."

Ginny grinned. "Exactly." She reached up and tugged at a strand of Harry's hair. "Nope, still black."

"If that was all it took to have red hair – a house full of Weasleys - I would have been ginger years ago."

"My hair is..."

"Not ginger," he finished. "You know, I was surprised that Jamie..."

"Is too much like you."

"He has your nose and smile."

"I'm lucky the Potter genes allowed me to have that much."

"You're tired," Harry murmured softly, noting the shadows under her eyes. "It's been a long day for all of us. Go and sleep, sweetheart. I know you're normally superwoman but you've another Potter cooking inside and if he's anything like his brother..."

"And his father..."

Harry chuckled. "I'll be up later. Fleur's just about to go, I think." He cast a practised eye at the Veela beauty. His sister-in-law looked as tired as Ginny did.

"Oh well, if Fleur is tired, then..." She let Harry pull her close and nuzzled her head against his shoulder, watching as Bill escorted his wife up the stairs.

"Go, Ginny-love," Harry urged, "I won't be long."

Ginny nodded and, after giving her husband a lingering kiss, slipped up the stairs.

"Harry!" Bill appeared back in the hall, his face worried. "The alarms have gone off at The Burrow." He held up his wrist, where an elaborate watch full of dials and spinning stars was beeping insistently. "I have them keyed to this."

"Bill!" Fred and George came charging out of the lounge, followed by Ron and Hermione. "The ward alarms have gone off. Someone is trying to dismantle the wards on the Burrow."

"I know that," Bill snapped, before looking confused. "How do you know?"

"We tuned our alarms to yours," admitted George, with a smirk.

"Let's go," said Ron. "I know the place is empty but it would be better to stop any destruction before it happens. I don't think Mum would want the Burrow rebuilt for a third time. You coming, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Sure. Just don't tell my wife."

"Too late," said Ginny appearing at the bottom of the stairs clad in a blue dressing gown and followed closely by a wide-awake Fleur. "No, I'm not coming with you this time. My magic is a little unpredictable at the moment. It settles down once the morning sickness stops but until then, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Be careful," she warned.

"We have to hurry." Harry pulled on a thick jacket and a woolly hat, issuing orders as if he was born to do so. "Get your coats. You'll need to move out of the range of the house before apparating. Bill, send a Patronus to the Order. See if we can get Tonks or Kingsley as back up. Hell, I'll even accept Dumbledore. And I would expect anti-apparition wards to have gone up."

Bill shrugged. "Not a problem. Goblin wards tuned to Weasley blood. I can still apparate into the house and take them down from there. Wait a few moments before following me, Harry." He looked as his brothers. "The rest of you with me now."

The Weasley brothers grabbed their cloaks and headed out the front door almost before Harry and Bill had finished speaking.

Harry turned to Hermione, who was about to pull on her own cloak. "I don't like to ask this of you but Hermione, can you stay here?"

Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously, her hands gripping her cloak. "Women and children, Harry?"

"No," he said firmly. "Ginny and Fleur are both pregnant and we have Jamie and Molly to think about, too. Yes, we're under layers of protections but I'd rather have another reliable wand on hand. I would never do that to you, Hermione. You're too strong a witch and I need you here to..." He glanced quickly at Ginny.

Hermione's lips tightened mutinously for a moment but then she took a deep breath and nodded. "I see your point."

Ginny gave a smile of relief but then faced Harry, her face stern. "Normally I'd hex you for thinking that I needed to be protected, Potter, but..."

Molly, who had been putting Jamie to bed hurried down the stairs, her face anxious. "What's wrong? Where are you going?"

"The wards on the Burrow have been tested," said Hermione carefully. "It's okay, Mum. We're all here but the boys have called in the Order and gone to check."

The older witch wrung her hands. "Oh..."

"It will be fine, Molly. They'll find it difficult – if not impossible - to get through the wards. They are the best that the Goblins could provide. It will slow anyone unwelcome down." Harry reassured Molly. He turned to Ginny, gave her a kiss on the lips and vanished out the door after his brothers-in-law.

Ginny smiled. "I'm not tired anymore." She ruined her words by yawning. "Actually, I'm knackered but I won't sleep until Harry and the boys are home. Fancy a cup of tea?"

"It's the waiting I hate," admitted Fleur.

Hermione shrugged. "As long as they don't do anything more stupid than they usually do."

"Bill has a good head on his shoulders," said Fleur. "Most of the time."

Hermione's smile was wry. "I'm not saying anything about Ron apart from the fact that I love him."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

Harry jogged down the drive and ahead, could see his brothers-in-law reach the closest apparition spot and vanish. He stopped running and also disappeared with a faint whisper of sound. Sheilhill was his home, he could go from anywhere within the property – an additional safeguard he had paid the goblins extra to arrange. He arrived in the middle of a small battle; coloured spells flying over his head. Bill had been quick with the apparition wards – but he was one of the top goblin-trained cursebreakers in the country. Ducking, Harry turned to avoid a nasty curse from a masked black-clothed wizard just in time to see Draco Malfoy and Percy Weasley exchange a round of spell fire before the blonde ponce apparated out screaming and clutching his shoulder. His brother-in-law had gazed open-mouthed at Harry before taking a hit to the chest and slumping to the ground.

"Get off our land, you Death Eating bastards!" Bill was screaming obscenities at the disappearing enemy wizards and firing rapid spells.

"Bill!" said Fred quietly. His brother ignored him, still firing spells into the empty spaces. "Bill!" he eventually shouted. "They've gone."

Bill looked over at his family and took a steadying breath of cold, clean air.

George was leaning over Percy. "Guys!" he called anxiously.

"Is he okay?" Harry asked, running over to kneel beside Percy's prone figure.

"He's alive but he's not looking good, Harry. His breathing sounds funny." George's voice shook. "I tired to _Ennervate _him but nothing happened. What do you think he was hit with, Kingsley?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt turned faintly surprised eyes on Harry before bending over Percy, his wand waving over him. "I don't know. He's barely breathing."

Harry began running some diagnostic spells. "I'll do some basic magic stabilising spells. I'm no Madam Pomfrey but I did learn some healing charms. You didn't hear the hex Malfoy used?"

They all shook their heads.

"Then you'd better get him to St. Mungos," Kingsley ordered. "I agree, Mr. Potter. This looks urgent."

Fred and George nodded, their faces uncharacteristically serious as they picked up Percy and vanished.

"What was he doing here?" wondered Ron.

"It's Christmas Eve," murmured Harry. "Peace and goodwill and all that. Perhaps, he came to make amends."

Ron snorted. "Percy and amends. You have to be kidding...right?"

Bill frowned. "No, I think Harry's right. It's not Percy's usual 'I am important and I want to make an entrance type of thing.' We can see if he made it into the house."

They walked slowly, the wards letting them through like a warm knife through butter. Bill opened the kitchen door and after a quick look around the room pointed to the Christmas tree in the corner. "He's left a parcel..." He picked it up and read the label. "It's for Mum."

Ron opened and closed his mouth. "The prat came to visit and actually left a present for Mum?"

"And took away his own jumper," Bill said. "She'd knits him one every year but he always sends them back. She left it beneath the tree just in case."

Harry put his wand back in his pocket. "So, Percy was in the wrong place at the right time."

Bill nodded. "Looks like it."

"So what prompted the attack?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt sighed. "It could be a number of reasons but recent events..." He gave Harry a hard look. "...could have made Draco Malfoy want to get some revenge. The Weasleys are a high profile family allied to Dumbledore and are firmly against You-know-who. Your marriage, Mr. Potter... It could have been as simple as that."

"Can you arrest Malfoy?" asked Fred.

"I'm not sure," murmured Kingsley. "The Ministry...it's difficult."

"No, then," bit out Harry. "Business as usual at the Ministry.

Kingsley opened his mouth to argue.

"Bet you're glad we paid the goblins extra for those wards, Bill," said Ron quickly. "Harry?"

Harry had whipped something small out of his pocket and was stabbing at it with his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked. "What's that?"

"It's a phone." Harry grinned, placing the device against his ear. "And I'm phoning the wife. Less conspicuous than a _Patronus_. You do remember what a phone does, Ron?"

"What?"

"Hello! Gin? Can you get Hermione to take Molly and Fleur to St. Mungos? No, we're all fine but Percy was here and he's been hurt...possibly seriously. I'll tell you everything when we get home. Yes, I'm on my way."

"Mister Potter..." Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped towards the young wizard. "It's good to know that you are safe and well. Will you wait until Dumbledore arrives?"

Harry shook his head. "No."

"But..."

"I have an appointment to see the headmaster in ten days or so. He's waited this long. He can wait a bit longer. I'm not under arrest, I've done nothing wrong, and so you can't haul me into the Ministry. Yes, I'm married and you all know who I'm married to. Dumbledore does not control what I do." Harry's face showed no emotion. He wasn't going to let anyone from the Order tell him what to do. He was a grown man and had made his own decisions both good and bad. That was the way it should be.

"Harry...?" Bill murmured. "I'm just going to check the wards and then I need to get to St. Mungos... see about Percy." He began waving his wand in a series of intricate figures.

"They're okay, aren't they?" asked Ron.

"They're intact and very strong," Bill said quietly.

"That's the goblins for you," said Harry. "The goblins and a close family that loves one another."

Bill glanced at his watch. "I'd better get going."

"Do you want me to come?" Harry asked.

"Not at the moment," Bill said thoughtfully. "If Hermione, Ron, Fleur and Molly are there with me, that should be enough."

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**St. Mungos Hospital**

Christmas Eve at St. Mungos Hospital was surprisingly quiet. The wizard that made his way out of the lift onto the fourth floor glanced at the unprepossessing attempt at festive cheer.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

"Healer Medway." Albus Dumbledore dipped his head solemnly in greeting as he entered the ward. "I came as soon as I heard."

"About what?" The healer appeared confused.

"Mister Weasley. I am a close friend of the family."

"Oh. Only family are with the young man at present."

"If I could speak to the family?" He enquired politely. "I want to show my support. If there's anything I can do?"

The healer wasn't a Hogwarts' alumni but was still awed by the presence of the great man. "I will go and enquire." Medway gave an awkward cough and vanished through a set of swing doors.

Dumbledore frowned. He'd expected to be met by one of the Weasleys and informed immediately. An attack on the Burrow could have been disastrous for the family but from what Kingsley Shacklebolt had told him, the Burrow had been deserted, the family were not spending Christmas there and Bill Weasley had installed top-of-the-line goblin wards. Percy had decided to visit his estranged family unaware that none were in residence.

He was glad that young Percy had decided to make a rapprochement with his family once more. Dumbledore knew that it had been breaking Molly's heart. He could always use someone in Percy's position at the Ministry. Scrimgeour was a better Minister for Magic than Cornelius Fudge had been but he didn't trust him completely.

But the real fact that had him here at St. Mungos was Harry's appearance at the Burrow with the rest of the Weasley family. He'd long suspected Bill of knowing Harry's whereabouts but it seemed that the rest of the family, including Molly and the twins, did also. That they were keeping quiet gladdened and frustrated him.

The door opened behind him and he was reassured to see the tall figure of Kingsley Shacklebolt enter. "What happened, Kingsley?"

"The wards were attacked but not breached. As far as I can determine, Percy Weasley was visiting the Burrow. He left a gift for his mother."

"I'm glad to hear that Percy is returning to the family."

Kingsley frowned. "We don't know what he was hit with. By all accounts it was a hex from Draco Malfoy. He's never been afraid of using the Dark Arts."

"You have witnesses?"

The Auror nodded. "We do but arresting him could be problematic. We suspect that Malfoy Manor has become a base of operations for those who follow You-know-who."

Dumbledore sighed. He'd tried to reach out to young Malfoy but had been repulsed every time. "And Harry?"

"Appeared with the rest of the Weasley family. He looked well but refused to wait until he could meet with you."

"He did magic?"

"Apparated in and out. Threw a couple of spells at departing Death Eaters but he was one of the last to arrive and only appeared as the action finished..."

The ward door swung open and Healer Medway swept through it followed by Bill Weasley. "Albus."

"How is Percy?"

"Perhaps you should come and see for yourself." Bill's voice was grim. He swivelled abruptly and moved towards the private room his brother was currently occupying.

The rest of the family huddled around the walls. Molly, being comforted by Fleur, was wiping her eyes with a large white handkerchief, Ron and Hermione clung together and the twins stared at Percy with fascination.

Bill threw his arm towards the figure of Percy Weasley sitting stiffly on the bed.

Percy smiled brightly. "Professor Dumbledore! Have you come to give me my duties? Being Head Boy is an honour and I have many responsibilities. I must instruct the prefects in the new rules laid down this year." He produced a quill and a piece of parchment and began writing busily.

Molly gave a quiet sob.

Dumbledore raised astonished eyes to Bill. "He doesn't remember?"

"We don't know what hit him. The medical staff are doing all that they can," said Hermione. Bill could almost see her fingers itch to start researching.

Percy looked up. "What are you all doing in the Head Boy's room? Not that I'm not pleased to see you but...I have important duties to do. Being Head Boy..."

Bill gave a forced laugh. "Of course, Percy. Come on, we'll leave you to it."

"Mr. Weasley..." Healer Medway ushered him from the room. "There is a place in the Janus Thickey Ward available for Percy. Until we discover what the hex was, he isn't safe to be out on his own."

"My mother would probably want him cared for at home but in these uncertain times it would be better if he stayed here. I would worry about her taking on the responsibility of his care."

The healer nodded. "We can make his room look like a Hogwarts dormitory."

"That would be acceptable," agreed Bill. "How can he have lost... nearly ten years?"

"We don't know and we don't know how this curse progresses."

"It could get worse?"

"We have no way of knowing. We will have to wait and see."

The door opened and Dumbledore exited the ward. "Could I have a word, Bill?"

"Certainly, Albus." Bill could almost predict what would be asked and decided to head him away from the subject. "If it's about Harry, I can tell you nothing."

"Bill..."

"No. Harry has agreed to meet you. I will not tell you where he is. I think it's in rather bad taste to ask about my brother-in-law when my family has been hit with another tragedy. Good evening, Albus. I hope you have a pleasant Christmas." Bill bowed his head and left Albus to contemplate a limp garland strung across the door.

14


End file.
